A Very Medieval Panem
by Astoria Potter
Summary: Our enigmatic cast of characters and the world of Panem, set circa medieval times. Need I say more?
1. Part 1

Story: "strike Do Epic Shit/strike A Very Medieval Panem"

Author: Astoria Potter

Total Word Count: 4,115 so far

Chapter(s): 1/?

Summary: Our enigmatic cast of characters and the world of Panem, set circa medieval times. Need I say more?

Pairing(s): (Almost) everything. No, seriously. Katniss/Gale, Katniss/Peeta, Finnick/Annie, Johanna/Gale, Gale/Madge, Johanna/Finnick, Haymitch/Maysilee, Haymitch/Effie, Plutarch/Coin, Katniss/Finnick, Prim/Rory, Cato/Clove, Johanna/Darius, etc., etc. It _is_ a crack fic, after all.

Rating: PG-13 (Violence, swearing here and there, alcohol consumption, mood-swinging characters)

Spoilers: Just know the trilogy and you'll be fine.

A/N: So, this actually began as a cracky idea over at ontd_panem, mainly because my squeeze Dori [hulamoth] (best roommate in the world!) and I were talking about Christmas in Panem and medieval fantasy and _A Song of Ice & Fire_, and then we started saying "what if?" for a _medieval _Panem. And from there, this fic was born. But it wasn't a fic at that point, it was still a brainstorm and lots of cracky dialogue. It still sort of is, although it's more serious than cracky.

Be warned! This story will contain swearing undercover nuns, alcohol swindling abbots, laughable knights, potty-mouthed "proper" ladies, insertion of Ellyce's favorite historical fictional characters, tons of historical inaccuracy in certain parts (I am not a medieval history buff, you guys, but I will try my best) and things of the like. If you see me making fun of your favorite character, please keep in mind that this is a crack fic, and that people are made fun of in crack fic.

Here we go! Feedback is, as always, very much appreciated!

/ / /

_NARRATOR: While things like this: _

PEETA: I always try to act like a knight. I am so ~dashing~ and ~blonde~ and ~eloquent~ and the ladies ~fawn~ over me.

GALE: Bitch, please.

KATNISS: I am an awesome badass bitch maiden, come to the rescue and about to blow you up!

PEETA: Oh, my heart! My love!

GALE: Jesus Christ. Stop. Just STOP, please.

PEETA: Your lips are red like rubies, your eyes are as-

KATNISS: /takes her plate of armor and knocks him out/ There. Now he fucking shut up.

GALE: /snorting with laughter/

KATNISS: Wait, why the fuck are we suddenly set in medieval times?

ELLYCE: OH MY GOD, THE PARODIES! :D:D:D:D:D!

KATNISS: Oh, shit.

_will happen, please, hold your awesome horses. My dear, patient readers, you must wait. It will come eventually. For now, let me take you back, back to the beginning..._

_/ / /_

"You're here to see her, I presume," Johanna said matter-of-factly as Finnick strode inside, not even waiting for her invitation as she threw the door open to take in his haggard face.

"Why am I ever here?" Finnick snapped irritably. Someone was moody today.

"Oh, I don't know," she waved her hand. "To seduce and corrupt my novices, I suppose?"

"Get this through your thick head," he gritted as they strode through the halls. "I'm not _interested_ in them, Jo."

"Don't 'Jo' me," she snapped. "We are not friends, Sir Odair, do not presume to-"

"So we have an understanding?" Finnick asked as he reached the garden.

"Of what sort?" she asked.

"Very good," he smiled, and then she watched his back as he disappeared.

"Fucking knights," she swore under her breath.

Fucking knights indeed.

/ / /

Peeta Mellark rode through the entrance of the village, ready to save and vanquish whatever evil had been brought on by the fiery depths of true malice. He was the rescuer, the protector, and he took pride in this.

But there was no welcoming cheer as he entered the village. No, instead, he found that it was rather... empty at the front. Empty?

He turned to his second-in-command, Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid. "Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid," he said, frowning. "Since when have I ridden into a village and not been met with shrieks of joy and happy people throwing themselves at my feet?"

Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid bit his lip (which really hurt! It must have been all of that effort from making his mind attempt to function). "Um... not since... not since two years ago, sir!"

"Has it really been so long?" Peeta sighed dramatically. "Oh, those younger years!"

They saw a gathered mass of bodies up ahead - aha! This was where all the real action was going on! The action that had stolen Peeta's glorious entrance! Well, he would get it back! He would!

"What is going on?" Peeta inquired as he dismounted his horse.

The excited crowd was too occupied to even pay him any attention, and even if they _did _notice him, they couldn't have cared less.

"What is it?" Peeta asked as he tossed his head, his hair flipping dramatically and falling messily back in place. Women loved that, his tousled blonde hair and lovely eyes and creamy voice. (He loved it too, he had to admit.)

"Oh, she saved us!" a woman at the end of the crowd exclaimed happily. Ah, her attention had been caught by his hair-tossing move, then. Excellent.

"_She_?" Peeta rose his eyebrows, making his way through the crowd. "What?"

"Knight Everdeen!" a small child laughed.

Peeta laughed, but not from joy. He was amused. "A woman, a knight? Surely you jest. Surely you mean that a woman and her knight-"

"Surely you don't wish for me to put a hole through your ugly face," said a new voice, one that was like the sound of tinkling bells - the most perfect noise he had ever heard.

He spun around, and all he could focus on was the most beautiful creature that he had ever seen. "Wow," he said. "Wow." She was breathtaking - black hair that glinted with the sunlight, the most gorgeous grey eyes, a fiery countenance that showed in her stance and choice of attire. "Oh."

"Oh _what_?" she snapped irritably, even as the armored knight who stood on her left let out a snort of laughter. "_Gale_," she hissed.

"I love you," Peeta breathed out, and he knew it to be true. There could be no one for him but her. "Oh, I love you."

"Fucking shit," Katniss swore under her breath.

The knight known as Gale laughed.

/ / /

She sat in the garden, as she always did when he came to visit. "Hello, Finnick," she said cheerily as he stopped beside her.

"My lady," he nodded his head before he proceeded to pluck a golden apple off of the nearby tree and hand it to her.

She ran her fingers down its side, as though studying it. "Shiny," she said simply.

He smiled at her. "So you like it, then?"

She laughed. "It's pretty. But not beautiful."

He rose his eyebrows. "I wasn't aware that you were suddenly interested in beautiful things."

"No," she shook her head. "Just you."

"Just me what?" he asked, his breath catching as she traced the contours of his face with a single finger.

"Beautiful," she said.

"Annie..." he said as he closed his eyes.

She pressed her fingers to his lips. "It's okay," she said. "It's okay."

He let out a choked laugh. "You don't even know what I'm about to say."

"But I do," she said, her voice sad. "I do, Finnick."

His eyes flew open. "I wanted to ask you-"

"Come take a turn with me down that path, will you?" she asked, looping her arm through his. "I always feel most special when a valiant knight such as yourself comes and escorts me and all of the nuns get to fawn over such lovely true love."

He laughed, knowing that she was trying to distract him but not really caring at the moment. "All right. But you have to promise to listen to what I want to ask later."

"Perhaps," she said, her eyes dancing with laughter. "Perhaps."

/ / /

Haymitch Abernathy was, quite possibly, the worst monk in existence. Worse still, he was the abbey of the nearby monastery. The asshole abbey of the other monastery who stole _Johanna's_ supply of alcohol for himself. Not that there was any standing proof for this, of course. But Johanna counted her liquor supply well, and she knew when her storage space had been tampered with.

It didn't matter how many guards she hired to take watch in front of the cellar, because none of them ever saw a person try to gain entrance except for an infuriated Johanna. And yet, every week for the past couple of months, she had been deprived of at least two barrels of alcohol.

But there was nothing but a few footprints. A few fucking _footprints_. So he'd been here, obviously. Some sort of stupid tunnel that he'd been building, all just to steal her alcohol. Really! The nerve. All he had to do was _ask_, and she would have been more than willing to share! (Okay, so she probably would have knocked him out with the beer keg and left him on the floor, but that wasn't the point.)

She wasn't having a good day. The stupid Cardinal Snow might be coming to visit, Maysilee was ratting on her ass (although she _was _a good best friend. A bitchy one, but still. [Johanna didn't have a lot of friends nowadays]), that hot knight Finnick had come to see his lady love and turn half of Johanna's nuns into screaming fangirls who forgot their vows, and that idiot Katniss girl was being more rash than ever (Johanna hated having frightened people come to her nunnery and talk about how they needed to have assurance that they wouldn't end up like this crazy Katniss bitch, because she _so _did not need to hear about their dumbshit problems), and - well, she just needed an excuse to drink some liquor. She always counted the number of barrels at this time of day, because even though Maysilee called it paranoia, Johanna knew that it wasn't.

"Blight!" she barked. "Get in here!"

He came rushing in, a bored look on his face. "M'am?" he asked. "What is it?"

"_Why_," she snapped, "are there _footprints_ on the ground? Footprints, Blight! You're telling me that you and the men I hired to put on watch happened to hear nothing from your post outside?"

Blight was going to point out that she hadn't hired them to watch the cellar, she'd bullied them into it by saying she would curse them with eternal damnation (which scared the hell out of him), but he simply pursed his lips. "I'm sorry, m'am. The matter will be dealt with promptly."

"It'd better," Johanna said before she frowned. "Is that an _axe _in your hand?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Er, yes."

"Give it to me," she said, holding out her right hand.

"What?" he blinked, not quite sure of what he was hearing.

"Give it!" she snapped brusquely as she massaged her temples.

He promptly handed it over, and it took every inch of courage he had to _not_ inch away from her. _She's an abbess, she's an abbess, a nun, she's won't know how to wield that thing-_

A loud thwack, the impact of wood flying all over the place, and a rivulet of wine squirting at his face were three things that happened all at once. "Holy hell," Blight murmured under his breath. "What-"

"Oh, yay!" Johanna exclaimed merrily, her foul mood miraculously evaporated. "More liquor for me!"

"Uh-" he began, but she had already procured a jug from somewhere within her robes (inside her _robes_? Jesus, what was up with this woman? Was she even a certified nun?) and dipped it into the barrel that she'd just slashed open.

She drank in long, deep gulps with her left hand, her right hand still clasping the axe in a tight grip. When she finished, she shot him a quizzical look. "Why the fuck are you still here? Get out."

Blight nodded, shaking his head in disbelief as he backed away. He couldn't wait to get out. Maybe this was all a weird dream, and this crazy nun was just some weird person who had stolen the robes and taken on the job.

"By the way, I'm keeping your axe!" she called out to his retreating form. "It's official property of the convent now!"

_Like hell_, Blight thought. He swore he could hear her saying "om nom nom" as he took his exit, but he was too frightened to look back and verify that thought, so he credited it to his imagination.

/ / /

Gale Hawthorne had met a lot of idiots in his lifetime. Hell, he bumped into one almost every five minutes (actually, it was more like five of them every one minute). But this stupid blonde knight - oh, he really took the cake.

He didn't even have to worry about feeling jealous, because he knew that Katniss wouldn't touch this little bitch with a ten-foot pole. Guys didn't go around declaring their love for you every day, and when one did it so terribly as this idiotical blonde just had - well.

"Do not laugh at me, Sir Gale," Peeta sniffed as he ran a hand through his hair. He watched to see Katniss' reaction, but she merely seemed annoyed. That was strange! Women usually fell over themselves when he touched his hair.

"Do not order my friend about, whelp," Katniss snapped. "What is your business here?"

"I have come to save the village of Beardon!"

"We are saved already by Knights Everdeen and Hawthrone!" a man called out. "We do not require your saving!"

Bloody hell. "What's going on?" Peeta heard himself ask.

"Want me to take care of him?" Gale asked, his voice a low murmur.

Katniss laughed as she took his arm and dragged him through the crowd, the two of them attempting to weave their way through the mass of outstretched hands. "Gale."

"I'm not jealous, if that's what you think," he said.

She frowned at that. "Why would you be jealous?"

Ah, there it went again. His not-so-subtle declaration of hidden feelings, dismissed or unacknowledged. Sometimes Gale wondered if Katniss even knew what it was like to feel un-platonic love. "No reason," he replied, his face set and hard. Suddenly, he found himself loathing this Peeta creature with a passion. It wasn't that he thought the little thing ever stood a chance with Katniss - it was just that his sour mood seemed to be leaking onto everything, and it had chosen Peeta to latch on. Peeta Mellark, whose declaration of love had been understood and dismissed, while Gale's declaration went unnoticed.

"We have to get going soon," Katniss said matter-of-factly as she gave some of the villagers a false smile and muttered something like "creepy grabby hands" under her breath.

"What better time to exit than now?" Gale asked. "The Cardinal is after you, and-"

"I know," she nodded. "But he cannot touch me. I am protected by-"

"Don't be rash, Katniss," Gale shook his head. "You know that he will find a way around it."

"He can't get me," Katniss snapped. "I am a ward of the king, favored by the queen, beloved by the people, and-"

"And you're also extremely lucky that all hell hasn't broken loose since you went 'rouge'," Gale pointed out.

"The people love me," Katniss shrugged. "They do not dare to do something to enrage the people. You know this as well as anyone, Gale."

(Sometimes [often, actually], when she said his name, he shivered.) "Their love might not be enough one day," Gale said. "I'm not trying to be a chauvinistic pig here, but how long do you think they're going to let a woman run around-"

"Women run around and are knights all the time," Katniss shrugged. "I mean, look at Annie Cresta-"

"Yeah, she went _insane_ after a quest, but I guess that's irrelevant to you-"

"Gale?" Katniss asked. (His name! Again! Shit, he was turning into that Peeta boy now. Shit shit shit shit _shit_. Fuck. Shit. This couldn't happen.)

"What?" he looked at her.

"Don't worry," she smiled, as though that would reassure him.

If anything, that made him more worried than ever.

/ / /

"Come with me," Finnick said.

"Where?" Annie asked, an amused smile on her face. "To court? Do you think I-"

"Away," he replied shortly, already anticipating her reaction.

She blinked. "Away?"

He held her hands in his, his eyes bright and gleaming with intent as he gazed at her. "We'll ride away, Annie. Think of it: no obligations, no bloody expectations, no rules."

"And where would we go?" she rose her eyebrows, intrigued. "Where would we go, Finnick?"

"Somewhere where we'll both be free," he said, his voice excited. "We'll take our own ship and set sail and never look back."

"Finnick," she smiled.

He went on, "Or we can move to that country manor the king just gave me, where you can breathe the fresh air and we'll have twenty children who all look like you and name them all Maysilee Donner-"

She laughed. "Even the boys?"

"_Especially _the boys," he winked at her. "What do you think?"

She squeezed his hands. "I think," she began, "that you're trying to save me where there's nothing left to save."

He said nothing, simply listened.

"I think you're trying to find a new home and a new beginning, but Finnick, your place is here. Panem. And I can't take that away from you, not when I'm not - I can't-"

"Annie," he murmured, gathering her in his arms and pressing his lips to her hair. "Annie, I don't think you understand."

"What?" she frowned as she mumbled into his chest.

"I'm only home when I'm with you," he mumbled into the beautiful brown of her hair.

She laughed against him, but he could feel her muscles relax. "You're very corny, Finnick. The answer's still no," she said.

That was okay, Finnick thought. At least she knew. She _knew_, she really, truly knew and understood, or had begun to, anyway, this love that he had for her, and knew what he wanted of her, what he hoped she would do.

/ / /

"Katniss Everdeen," Snow spat out, "presents a problem. A problem that we can't seem to get rid of. One woman!" he practically screamed. "_Why_," he hissed, "hasn't she been taken care of yet?"

"You cannot be serious," Seneca Crane relaxed into his chair as he dropped a grape into his mouth. "Be rational, Cardinal."

"She is one woman! We-"

"She is favored by the royal court, in case you have forgotten that fact. The king and queen might be useless pawns that we can control, but the rest of the court remains as powerful as ever," Plutarch interrupted carefully. "I do wish that you would think about this. I mean, really, Snow, sometimes you-"

"Shut up," Snow snapped irritably. "She is a nuisance and we must rid ourselves of this vile pestilence!"

"Wow," Plutarch said calmly. "Wide range of angry vocabulary you got there."

"Shut up," Snow said as he glared at everyone gathered 'round the table. "Can someone please come up with an intelligent idea for once?"

"Why not let her have her fun?" Seneca asked as he cut a grape open with a small knife.

"And how does this help?" Snow spat out.

"They will tire of her eventually. And when they do, they will be the ones calling for her blood," Seneca said in a cheerful tone as he plopped a half-grape into his mouth. "You know this as well as I do."

"Very well," Snow said. "If this fails, I will have your head."

"Oh, I have no doubt about that," Seneca said, although Plutarch noticed that the chords of his neck tightened.

/ / /

"A lady and her knight, eh?" Johanna rose her eyebrows as she and Maysilee watched Finnick and Annie laugh at something they saw in the sky. "It's sickening."

"It's adorable," Maysilee laughed, her face lit up with amusement. "I wonder if it's because you miss it?"

"Miss it?" Johanna snapped. "Why would I miss it?"

"Oh, you know," Maysilee waved her hand airily, "the fornicating, the whispered secrets, the feel of being-"

"I didn't know that fucking suddenly turned into love," Johanna glared at her. "Tell me, when did this happen?"

Maysilee's eyes danced with amusement. "So you do miss it then."

"Getting laid?" Johanna asked. "Hell yeah."

"How long has it been?" Maysilee cut to the chase.

"That's none of your business," Johanna snapped irritably.

Maysilee shot her a suspicious look. "Are you drunk again?"

"Haymitch fucking Abernathy is stealing our liquor," Johanna spat out, not directly answering the question.

The other woman frowned. "Him? Again? He's the worst stint that - anyway, he's not exactly who I wanted to be sent in."

"You knew him from before?" the other nun rose her eyebrows.

"_Years_," Maysilee divulged her. "Always the same. Always arrogant, always-"

"Sounds like you liked him," Johanna smirked.

"_That_," Maysilee said promptly, "is none of your business."

They focused their attention back down on the couple in the garden, two people who were in their own universe and not caring about anything else for this small period of time. "Do you think she'll go back with him?" Johanna gestured her head.

"Who, Annie?" Maysilee asked. "Eventually. A convent isn't the place for her, you know. She needs to breathe and fight, and it's too quiet here for her liking."

"She won't be safe otherwise," Johanna said matter-of-factly. "We all know this, her most of all. Snow will try to use Finnick's feelings for her to-"

"Since when did Annie care about being safe?" Maysilee countered. "We're talking about Finnick here, Jo. They'd do anything for each other."

She had a point.

/ / /

The thing that Katniss hated most about helping people out was the way that she had to exit afterwards because it was just such a hassle. Grabby hands all reaching for her, trying to thank her. She had no time for it, not when she had to go off and save her next group of peasants.

Still, she and Gale hadn't grown up playing in the forest for nothing, and they'd gotten better and better at disappearing without notice or trace. "So, where do we go now?" Gale asked as they reached a tree.

Katniss did not respond, instead opening her mouth to sing,

"_Come to me, _

_free though you may be,_

_but if you come now, _

_you shan't have to bow._

_Steeds of greater brilliance and worth_

_cannot be found, for all the rest are dirt._

_Loyal and brave and true-_

_I shan't waste any more time at the verse, for I must attend to my plume._"

She really did have a beautiful voice, Gale thought. Never mind that the stuff that she sang was often creepy and weird and for some reason made the common people cry like it was the first coming of sliced bread or something.

There was a minute of silence, and then their steeds, Cool Horsey 1 and Awesomer Horsey 2, came galloping towards them, neighing in delight upon seeing their riders.

"We head to court," Katniss said as she mounted Awesomer Horsey 2 and absently ran her fingers through his black mane.

He would have asked her if this was a wise option, but he already knew what her answer would be. "What, no special excursions planned?" Gale teased as he reined back Cool Horsey 1 for a moment.

Her eyes shimmered with laughter. "We take whatever we bump into, Gale. It's all much more organized that way."

Gale smiled at that, and Katniss noted that he looked so much younger and less weary when he smiled. She wished that he'd do it more often, her best friend who was always so serious and grim and-

"Oh, here they are!" came a familiar voice.

They shot each other an alarmed look as the Peeta boy and his loud procession of fellow knights came streaming into view astride their horses.

"What the hell?" Katniss rose her eyebrows as she drew her sword. "Get behind me," she ordered Gale.

"Like hell," he shot back at her. "I'm not a five-year-old, you know, I can _protect myself_-"

"Get behind me, Gale," she insisted.

"We mean you no harm," Peeta practically sang.

"Oh, really?" Gale rose his eyebrows.

"I come with an offer," Peeta smiled at him.

"An offer?" Katniss rose her eyebrows.

"Yes," Peeta said.

"And what exactly would that be?"

"Why, I mean to marry you, my lady," Peeta said, his voice smooth, his tone light, as though he were speaking of the year's taxes or the dullness of a sword.

Katniss burst into laughter.

/ / /


	2. Part 2

A/N: This chapter is more serious than cracky, but I promise that I shall resume more cracky times in the next installment.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed: Annony, wren, ExplorativeComet, Anonymous, and Anonymous: thank you! To those who put this story on their alert and favorite list, or added me to their alert and favorites! Thank you so much, you guys!

In the meantime, please enjoy! And, as always, your feedback would be very lovely and much appreciated! (:

Part II

"My dear Katniss," Peeta frowned, clearly not expecting this sort of reaction. There were plenty of women who wanted to marry him! Why, if he'd said it to another woman, they would have fainted right on the spot! Really, this was just so strange! "I do not see what is so amusing."

"I will never marry," Katniss declared, the laughter still on her lips as she turned back and shot a glance at Gale, who was suddenly seized by a coughing attack.

"Don't be absurd," Peeta said in a calm voice. He just had to make her see how much she needed him like he needed her. There was nothing else that he had ever wanted more, nothing but this beautiful woman who he wanted to love forever and ever.

Katniss yanked at the reins on her horse, and suddenly (It was amazing how he didn't notice this! It was probably because he was too busy glorying in her beauty.), a medium-sized rock slammed into the side of his head.

"Sir Peeta!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid shouted in horror. "Your head!"

Peeta could see many things at once. There were tons of dancing rainbows and shiny unicorns, and he seemed to be falling off of his horse. "Ooh," he said to himself. "Shiny, shiny!"

The sound of hooves speeding away... what was going on?

"Those villains!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid was screaming. "They have attacked you, Sir Peeta! We _must _go after them!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Billy Willy Nill Hilly snapped. "Sir Peeta is _injured_, you great idiot, and you suggest that we pursue those rouges?"

"I shall avenge Sir Peeta!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid shouted as he drew out his sword.

"Hey," Billy frowned. "Watch out for-"

"Owwie! Ow! I want my mommy!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid wailed as he tripped over a tree trunk and landed head-first in the forest dirt.

"Holy hell," Billy muttered under his breath. Why was he always the one who was stuck with a pack of irredeemable idiots?

/ / /

They had ridden for so long that the sun was already halfway gone from the sky.

"Was that wise?" Gale had asked her as they'd galloped away from that idiot Peeta and his band of fellow dumbasses.

"What, hitting him in the head with a rock?" Katniss had risen her eyebrows. "Hopefully that'll make him stop his interest in me. Well, it's not as though we'll ever see each other again-"

"You should not speak so soon," Gale had shook his head. "Katniss, I-"

"Gale," she had said in a tight voice. "Enough."

That had been hours ago. Now a strangely orange hue seemed to settle in the sky, and Katniss yanked the reins on Awesomer Horsey 2. "Look, Gale," she said in a soft voice. "The sky is orange."

"That it is," he replied.

"My father used to say that an orange sky meant we had to seek shelter," Katniss said, her voice sounding melancholic and a bit dead.

She was not one for superstitions, his Katniss, but she valued everything that her father had taught her, and if her lord father had told Katniss unicorns shitted rainbow cupcakes, Katniss would have taken his words quite seriously. "Look," Gale said simply, nodding his head at the large buildings in the distance.

"Shelter," Katniss breathed out, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

/ / /

They lay together on the grass, not caring if anyone said that it was indecent or not at all proper. Neither of them had ever been one for haughty ho-hum rules, and they weren't about to start up with that kind of shit now that they were in a nunnery.

Her head lay on his chest, and her beautiful hair tickled his face. "Look, Finnick," she said. "The sky is orange."

A strange feeling of dread went through him. Many things had happened when he'd spotted an orange sky. The day that his family had been murdered. The day that he and Annie had been sent on their quest. The day that they had nearly completed their task, but instead, the feeling of triumph had been snatched away when Annie had been pushed over to insanity. "Oh?" he raised his eyebrows.

"They say that if there's an orange sky, it's a sign that things are being set into motion," Annie went on in a soft voice. "Do you remember, Finnick?"

"I could never forget, my lady," Finnick said before he pressed a kiss into her hair, inhaling the scent of the sea that seemed to always be in Annie's hair (which was strange, seeing as they weren't anywhere near the sea).

"You help me remember," she replied. "Did you know that, Finnick?"

"I do," he murmured into her hair.

/ / /

"We do not house villains," Johanna said matter-of-factly as she attempted to slam the door in their faces. "Good day-"

Gale stuck his foot out (which actually really hurt, something that he realized they had failed to mention in the tales and ballads) and stopped the door before she could close it all the way. "Please, Abbess."

"Indeed," came a voice from behind her shoulder. "What's this, Jo? Refusing entrance to the helpless people of the realm? I mean, really, you ought to be ashamed of yourself, what with you being a nun and all-"

She didn't turn around, although she pushed hard against the door. "Shut up, Sir."

"Ow," Gale muttered under his breath as he felt the pressure on his foot increase.

Finnick's eyes danced with amusement. "And why should I do that?"

"Why shouldn't you?" Johanna snapped as she maintained her cheery smile and pushed even harder against the door.

"Shit, shit, _ow_," Gale swore.

"It'd be quite terrible if I went back to court and informed them that you _refused _to let two poor and helpless-"

"Excuse me," Katniss interrupted. "But we're not poor and helpless-"

"Exactly," Johanna turned around to look at him now, a saccharinely sweet smile on her face. "They're villains."

"But poor and helpless nonetheless," Finnick sighed as he ran a bored hand through his hair. "Really, Jo. You should know that I'd go rat your ass to the court even if you didn't-"

"Fine!" she screamed as she let go of her hold on the door.

"Thanks," Gale smiled at her, wincing as he did so.

"For what?" Johanna barked.

"My foot," he said as he clutched at it. "I was beginning to think that you were going to crush it to death."

"Don't think that I won't sometime in the future," Johanna snapped at him as she spun around on her heel and marched away.

"You have our thanks, sir," Katniss nodded at Finnick.

"Oh, thank _you_," he winked at her, his voice low.

"For what?" Katniss rose her eyebrows.

Gale scowled. Great. Just what he needed. Another knight who was going to flirt with Katniss.

"Why, I finally get to be formally introduced to you, Knight Everdeen. It's not every day that I get the opportunity, you know."

Katniss frowned. The man in front of her did seem _awfully _familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where exactly he was from. "And you are...?"

Gale remembered their days at court, and the rumors that had circulated. _"He loved her in the autumn, before the winter chill took hold." _Bronze curls. Arrogant smirk. Sea-green eyes. _"She brought him to his knees, Sir Finnick of House Odair, but alas, it was too late, for she had turned mad." _Golden skin. A seductive voice that seriously made Gale consider his love for Katniss. "You're Finnick Odair, aren't you?" he blurted out.

The man's eyes shone with unsung laughter. "That's Sir Odair to you, my fine friend."

Katniss' eyes widened. "_You're _Finnick Odair?" Now she knew why he seemed so familiar.

_That _made the knight laugh. "Come, I'll show you to the stables."

/ / /

"The Everdeen girl is here," Johanna breathed out as she burst into the study.

"Mmm." Maysilee didn't look up from the scroll that she was glancing at.

"Did you hear me?" Johanna asked as she quickly shut the door behind her. "The Everdeen girl-"

"Is here," Maysilee waved her hand airily. "Yes, I know."

Johanna shot her a suspicious look, and her voice was filled with incredulity. "Do you really think that-"

"Quiet," Maysilee frowned at her, still not lifting her eyes up from the parchment. "Now, do you think we should order fifty extra beer kegs or fifty-two?"

"Fifty-two, obviously," Johanna snapped at her. How was this even a question? "You still haven't-"

"See, if we get beer instead of wine, perhaps Abernathy won't be so inclined to steal it," Maysilee said, thumping her finger against the table. "Then again, he'd probably steal it anyway, so-"

"Maysilee-"

"Actually, I was going to tell you this later, but did you know that we just had a delivery of fifteen new beer kegs about two hours ago?"

"Maysilee!"

"Yes, yes, the Everdeen girl is here, blah blah blah. So what?"

"Well, I just think it would be a little _obvious _if the Cardinal happened to hear that we had housed her and that boy she's got following her around!" Johanna fumed. "I did _not _agree to go undercover as a fucking_ nun _just so that our whole operation could go to shit-"

"Why are you such a worry-wart?" Maysilee snapped, finally setting down her parchment. "Honestly, Jo, go drink some wine or something. Just stop _worrying_."

"You really think the Cardinal won't hear about this?" Johanna crossed her arms. "He has his spies _everywhere_-"

"And I already know who they are," Maysilee shrugged. "They think that they're so smart, placing their little fake nuns in every nunnery-"

"And you happen to know every single one?" Johanna rose her eyebrows. "How are you going to stop the ones in our nunnery from opening their damn mouths and-"

"There are ways," Maysilee leaned back in her chair.

"Ways," Johanna echoed before she arched her eyebrows. "Oh. You mean, you want me to slit their pretty little throats?"

Maysilee smiled. "My dear Johanna. Really, you have quite a vivid imagination. As I said, there are other ways."

Johanna laughed. "Black magic, you mean?"

Maysilee winked at her. "Precisely, my friend. Precisely."

"I prefer slitting throats more," Johanna said. "It's better when you see them die instead of wondering how they-"

"Fine," Maysilee laughed. "You kill half, and I'll rid the other half with black magic. Satisfied?"

Johanna felt a little calmer. "Yes."

/ / /

"Headed back to court, are you?" Finnick asked them as he led the way to the stables. "Or is it yet another peasant-saving mission?"

Katniss didn't answer that question. "What are you doing here, Sir Finnick? Surely you have better things to do than visiting a monastery that lies in the middle of nowhere."

His voice, when he spoke, was tight and a bit angry. "That is not of your concern, Miss Everdeen."

Katniss frowned over at Gale, who shook his head.

"Here we are," Finnick said abruptly as they made a left turn. A beautiful voice seemed to be wafting towards them.

"There's someone singing," Katniss said to Gale.

"Obviously," he nodded, and even as they followed Finnick's form, their ears perked as they listened to the feminine sound sing a song that they knew all too well.

_"Let me sing you a tale. _

_The tale of Sir Finnick of House Odair and Lady Annie of House Cresta, _

_which you have no doubt heard many times over. _

_He loved her in the autumn, before the winter chill took hold. _

_A knight and his lady, or is it the other way around? _

_No matter, for you shall hear the tale uttered from my lips. _

_Some say many things. _

_'A ward of the king was she', says one. _

_'Born in the woods and raised by the trees', says another. _

_Yet the truth of the matter is that Annie was born to House Cresta,_

_a year and some days (or was it months?) after Finnick was born to House Odair. _

_A knight and a lady knight, one might find this tale odd,_

_yet odd is what it shall be. _

_A fairer child has never come from House Odair. _

_Tall and handsome and true, all these things Sir Finnick was and shall remain. _

_Now, Lady Annie, on the other hand-" _

"Annie?" Finnick asked, and the voice halted its singing. "Annie, what are you doing in here?"

A lovely young woman with messy, flowing brown hair stuck her head out of a stall, and an amused grin erupted across her face as she slowly set down the brush that she had evidently been cleaning a white horse with as she walked slowly towards him. "Finnick," she said in a soft voice. "I see you haven't left yet."

The young woman stopped once she reached him, and Finnick took a step closer to her. "My lady," he said, his hand reaching out to tuck a few stray tendrils behind her ear.

Despite the fact that there was nothing remotely inappropriate about the scene before them, Gale and Katniss couldn't help but feel as if they were intruding on something intensely intimate.

"Don't be such a worrier, silly," Annie laughed softly. "You only just said goodbye to me about five minutes ago."

His gloved hand rested against her cheek for a single moment. "Much too long for my liking."

She let out another laugh before she looked behind him. "Who are our guests?"

Finnick didn't turn around to look at them. "Knights Everdeen and Hawthorne, my lady."

"Annie," Katniss said to herself. "Annie Cresta? The knight?"

The lovely young woman laughed. "I am whoever you want me to be, Knight Everdeen."

/ / /

They sat at the table, all laughing as Finnick told them the story of his latest quest out at sea. "Annie can tell you that time that we went on our quest and the sea otter swam off with my helm, you know."

"Did it really?" Katniss asked, an amused smile on her face.

"It did!" Finnick insisted, turning to Annie, whose left hand was clasped with his right one. "Tell them, my lady!"

She let out a laugh. "Well, it was mainly because Finnick was busy waving his helm around in the air."

"I never took you for the kind of person to wave your helm around," Gale rose his eyebrows.

"Oh, you don't know half the things about me, Sir Gale," Finnick winked at him.

Annie was smiling. "Well, Finnick would never admit it, but the wind just happened to come and carry away his helm-"

Finnick laughed. "It was an incredibly strong gust of wind, let me tell you-"

"Oh, that's what he likes to say," Annie winked at them. "But really, his grip just wasn't too tight on his helm."

"My lady!" Finnick exclaimed, a fake look of affrontation on his face. "Really!"

Annie went on, "And he was shouting, 'Where's my helm?' and the rest of us were just too busy laughing at him-"

"It was only you and me," Finnick interjected.

Annie let out another laugh. "You and me and the sea otters, my good sir."

Finnick smiled at her, his eyes dancing. "If you say so."

"Then Finnick just dove into the water, armor and all, not even thinking about-"

"My helm was in there!" Finnick said defensively.

"Yes, but any knight with sense would know better than to jump in with their armor-"

"Well then, I was incredibly lucky to have you with me, wasn't I?" Finnick smiled at her.

"I don't think you would have survived five minutes without me," Annie laughed.

"So then what happened?" Katniss inquired.

"Well, I do have to admit that even with his armor attempting to weigh him down, Finnick was an incredibly adept swimmer."

Finnick rose his eyebrows. "I'll have you know that I'm one of the best-"

"Oh, not the _best?_" Annie's voice was teasing. "Isn't that what you were always telling me?"

"That's because you're the best, my lady," Finnick said.

Annie arched her eyebrows before she went on. "So when he got to the spot where he thought he'd thrown his helm, Finnick realized that a group of sea otters had gathered, and one of them had his helm between its furry paws and was busy swimming away with it."

"You just let them swim off with your helm?" Johanna rose her eyebrows.

"Oh, no," Annie said, her eyes dancing with unuttered laughter. "He dove into the water after it and tried to get his helm back."

"I'm assuming he didn't get it back?" Gale rested his chin on the palm of his hand.

"Well, he would have, except for the otters swam after him and-"

"They swam _after _him?" Katniss' voice was incredulous and full of disbelief.

"Do you not think these things possible, Knight Everdeen?" Maysilee seemed amused as she bit into a peach.

Katniss frowned. "I never-"

"Go on," Johanna nodded at Annie. She didn't have a particular liking for this Katniss Everdeen girl. She was going to ruin their entire operation, Johanna knew, and despite Maysilee's calm reassurances, nothing was going to-

"Well, with so many sea otters clamoring for his helm, Finnick decided to let them have it-"

"Oh, don't tell me that the famed Sir Odair is actually soft at heart?" Johanna waggled her eyebrows.

"Oh, hardly," Annie winked at them. "It's only at certain junctures that he-"

Finnick lifted their clasped hands and pressed a kiss to Annie's skin. "My lady," he smiled at her.

As she watched the gesture, Katniss again had that feeling, the one that felt as though she were intruding on something deeply private.

"... tomorrow morning," Sir Odair was saying. "And you two? I assume you're heading to court as well?"

Gale sipped his drink and gestured his head towards Katniss. "That is not for me to tell you."

All eyes were upon her, and Katniss blinked. "We are headed to where the road takes us, sir."

"To court it is, then," Finnick inclined his head. "I guessed as much."

"I said no such thing, sir," Katniss frowned at him.

"Your _mouth _said no such thing, but your facial expression said something else entirely," Finnick winked at her. "You might want to work on your acting skills, Knight Everdeen."

She made a face at him. "Even if we _were _going to court - which I'm not saying we are - how is it any of your business, Sir Odair?"

"Why, I'm actually headed back there myself," he winked at her. "I was going to leave earlier this evening, but the chance to get to know you and Sir Hawthorne was just too good to pass up."

"You're headed back to court?" Katniss frowned. "Why?"

He rose his eyebrows. "Is there some sort of surprise in there? What, is it expected that I'd be doing something different?"

"Oh, I don't know," Johanna shrugged. "Wenching?"

Finnick's eyes twinkled with patronizing amusement as a grin spread across his face. "Very amusing, abbess."

"I do try," Johanna let out a laugh.

"Allow me the honor of accompanying the two of you back to court," Finnick said to Katniss and Gale. "Three pair of eyes are always better than two, you know."

Katniss exchanged a look with Gale. Did they really have a choice? Finnick would probably come along with them even if they refused him anyway, so they might as well accept. "Very well," Katniss nodded at him. "Thank you, Sir Odair."

"Thank _you_, Knight Everdeen," Finnick winked at her before he focused his attention back on Annie.

Johanna smirked. "Do you even know what you've gotten yourselves into?"

"Is there something amusing that I'm missing here?" Katniss sniffed. She was still quite offended at the abbess' chilly reception of her and Gale.

"Oh, nothing at all," Johanna gave them a smug look as she settled back into her chair. "Nothing at all, _Lady_ Everdeen."

The use of the term angered Katniss. "Why do I not believe that, abbess?"

"Believe what you will," Johanna laughed. At that moment, a movement seemed to catch her eye. "Blight!" she barked. "More beer!"

The man hurried forward, a haggard expression on his face. "Yes, abbess?"

"Are you deaf?" she snapped irritably. "I told you to bring me more beer! Now!"

"Yes, abbess," he nodded his head before he turned on his heel and fled from the hall.

"More beer?" Katniss mouthed at Gale, who had arched his eyebrows.

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"Is she even a real abbess?" Katniss whispered to him. "I thought nuns didn't partake in drinking alcohol or wine."

Gale gave another shrug of his shoulders.

/ / /

"Where am I?" Peeta asked groggily as he came to. There was a throbbing pain on the right side of his head, and he let out a hiss of pain.

"Peeta!" a familiar voice cried. "Oh, thank god you're alright!"

It took his eyes a moment to adjust, because all that he could see were blobs and circles, but after a minute or so, his eyes became used to the shapes above him. "Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid? Billy Willy Nill Hilly?" Peeta blinked. "What's going on?"

Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid let out a dramatic sigh. "Sir, I feared that you had perished! Oh, thank you, thank you!"

Peeta sat up quickly, not caring that his head was spinning. "What is going on?" he repeated.

Billy gave him a strange look. "You were hit in the head with a rock."

"What?" Peeta exclaimed, whipping away the blankets that covered him as he reached to his left hip for the hilt of his sword. "Who dared to do such a thing? Let him perish by my hand! My honor and that of my house has been offended by this usurper!"

"Oh, I shall help you on this quest of vengeance, good sir!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid sang.

Billy seemed amused now. "It was Knight Everdeen who did the honor, sir."

"Knight Everdeen?" Peeta gave him a perplexed look before the afternoon's events came back to him. His entrance into the village of Beardon, the beautiful woman who claimed to be a knight who was to be his wife, her companion with the sneer, how he had lost track of her, but how he had found them in the forest... "No! She would not do such a thing, Billy!"

Billy gave him a grim look. "She did it, sir."

"Oh, how preposterous a suggestion!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid shouted, even though Billy knew that he himself had witnessed Knight Everdeen chuck a medium-sized rock at Peeta's head.

"Quiet," Peeta barked, a bit too harshly.

"Of course," Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid nodded.

"She did it," Peeta said slowly.

"Yes, she did, sir," Billy inclined his head.

"But she only did it because she was frightened at the prospect of marriage to me, Billy!" Peeta exclaimed, his voice becoming more excited as he came to this realization. "Oh, Billy, how scared she must be!"

Billy wanted to point out that Knight Everdeen would most likely whip Peeta's ass and beat him up if the knight so much as repeated these words in front of her, but Billy said nothing of the like, for he knew that Peeta wouldn't listen to him. Instead, he pressed his fingers against his lips to hide an amused smile. "So what course do we take now, sir?"

"Why, we go after her!" Peeta exclaimed. "I shall never stop until I have won her heart and know that she is under my sworn protection!"

Again, Billy wanted to point out that Knight Everdeen could take care of herself and probably had for years now, but he kept his mouth shut on the matter. "We do not know where she and Sir Gale were headed, my lord."

Peeta let out a sad sigh as a single tear trickled down his cheek. "Billy," he said, reaching forward and squeezing his companion's hand in a gesture of confidence. "Billy, we shall head back to court and request for the king to grant me this quest of pursuing Lady Everdeen."

_Oh, what the hell. _"Very good, sir," Billy said stiffly. "I'm sure the king shall grant your quest." The entire court would probably get a good laugh out of this request, especially if Peeta were to declare it publicly. Knowing his friend, Billy was sure that Peeta would do nothing short of requesting this quest publicly for all to see and guffaw at.

"Shall we leave now?" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid asked, finally sure that it was alright for him to speak once more.

"Yes," Peeta nodded, wiping away at the tears. "Time is of the essence, and I must start this quest as soon as possible!"

That head injury must really have gotten to his head, Billy thought. Still, he said nothing as they gathered their belongings and exited the inn.

/ / /

There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Johanna called, not bothering to look up from the nonsense that she was scribbling.

The door opened, and Lucia, Karina, and Emhen came in, the three of them escorted by Finnick and Gale. "Abbess," Sir Odair nodded at her, and Johanna knew that she did not imagine the quick rise of his eyebrows.

Better to get rid of all three of them at once than one by one. That would be much too tedious for Johanna. Still, calling all three of them together would alert them to the fact that they knew, but they would not attempt to escape or attack the knights whom she had had bring them here, not with the rest of the nunnery still up and scurrying about. It was too risky.

"Is that an _axe _on your table?" Sir Gale rose his eyebrows.

"That's none of your business," Johanna replied, giving him a sweet smile.

"We were just leaving," Finnick said loudly as he yanked Gale with him out of the study.

"Thank you, sirs," Johanna nodded at them. "You may leave."

"Very well," Finnick inclined his head.

The door shut behind the knights, and Lucia immediately opened her mouth. "M'am, I assure you, we have done no-"

"Shut your mouth," Johanna snapped brusquely as she rubbed at her temples and rose from her chair. "I simply wanted to know what your thoughts were on the performance of Blight and his fellow watchmen."

"Blight?" Emhen blinked as the three fake-nuns exchanged a strange look. The tension in their shoulder relaxed a little bit, but it was not fully gone, Johanna saw. "What ever for, abbess?"

"Did I say you were allowed to ask questions?" Johanna snapped.

"No, abbess," Karina bowed her head.

"Now, what was I asking?" Johanna tapped her fingers against her arm impatiently.

"Blight?" Lucia asked, stepping forward, always eager to please. "Well, Blight is as fine a watchman as they come-"

Johanna retrieved the dirk from inside her sleeve and, in one quick motion, drew it across the girl's throat.

Emhen and Karina let out twin shrieks of terror as Lucia's eyes widened in fright, the blood spurting from her pale skin. "What have you done?" they screamed.

"How long have the three of you been working for the Cardinal?" Johanna gave them a look of contempt.

"We haven't!" Karina screamed as she and Emhen both reached not-too-subtly into their robes for dirks of their own.

"Wrong answer," Johanna said as she grabbed the axe from the table and swung it at Karina's head.

/ / /

Finnick pressed his ear to the thick door. A shrill shriek. "Please!" one of the girls was screaming.

He opened the door. "... working for the Cardinal?" he could hear Johanna asking.

"A year!" Emhen squeaked. "A year, please-"

"Liar," Johanna hissed.

Finnick could hear her drawing the bloody dirk across the girl's neck, could hear the little, final shriek, could hear the blood running down and splattering across Johanna's skin.

The night wind blew out one candle, which Johanna thought was rather appropriate.

Finnick stepped forward. "You did it, then?"

She crossed her arms as she rose her eyebrows. "You-"

"Are part of the operation?" Finnick interrupted her. "Obviously. Or did Maysilee not inform you of this?"

"Of course she did," Johanna lied. "Hurry up and get me the-"

"Already have them," he said as he tossed three huge knapsacks at her. "Hurry, would you? Maysilee told me that you were efficient, but I have to note that you're rather messy, abbess."

The door opened behind them. "You didn't lock the door behind you?" Johanna hissed angrily as Finnick drew his sword.

He smiled at her in reply.

"Sir Odair, I was wondering-" Gale stopped, his eyes adjusting to the semi-darkness. "What-" his eyes widened as he spotted the three bodies on the floor and Johanna's bloody form. "You-"

Finnick had him slammed against a wall before he could say anything else. "What are _you_ doing here?"


	3. Part 3

A/N: What? Another chapter? Yeah, I must be hyper nowadays. Anyhow, this is definitely not going up because Gabby (bozothemoose) and Dori (hulamoth) talked me into it, and most definitely not because taragel is so awesome and deserves an early Christmas gift. (Read: all of the above are why this is up!)

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and put this on their alerts and favorites, or did so for me! Wow, thank you! To ForeverFoxface, SQUISHPIE, Solaryllis, Anonymous (all four of you!), Annony, Kate, and Tawnyfur: thank you so much for your feedback!

**IMPORTANT: IDK WHY, BUT FOR SOME REASON PEOPLE COULDN'T SEE CHAPTER 2 WHEN I UPDATED IT, AND SOME COULD ONLY SEE CHAPTER 1. SO, PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU READ CHAPTER 2 BEFORE YOU PROCEED TO READ THIS ONE! (: **

Anyhow, as usual, enjoy! And, as always, feedback is lovely and very much appreciated! (:

Part III

"Sir Odair," Gale rasped out as he felt the caress of cold metal against the side of his throat. "I-"

"_What_," Finnick snarled, "are you doing here?"

"Jesus H. Christ, Finnick!" Johanna was exclaiming. (Although if Gale thought about it, the abbess wasn't one to worry about others. In fact, he thought that her voice sounded a bit... forced? She should probably get together with Katniss so that they could work on their acting skills together. Then again, Gale was sure that they'd probably kill each other within five minutes of being locked in a room together, so he decided that this probably wasn't the best course of action to take.) "At least let him answer before you attempt to pulverize the poor boy to death!"

"Am not," Gale croaked, "a boy."

"Now is not the time for you to utter some witty retort," Finnick snapped, his eyes flashing in the illuminated darkness. "What-"

"Came to ask you what you thought about helms-"

"Liar," Finnick hissed, and Gale could feel the sharp trickle of his own blood as the other knight's blade poked at his skin. "Didn't I tell you not to attempt any smart-" Finnick's voice became angry. "_Put down_ the axe you're about to aim at my head, abbess."

"Oh, thank _god_," Gale let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps Johanna wasn't too insane after all, if she was going to attempt to save him.

Johanna ignored him as she spoke to Finnick. "You really think I would be so foolish as to buy your story of you being part of the-"

Finnick let out an amused laugh. "No, I didn't. You should also know that I wouldn't be so idiotical as to not expect you to suspect me-"

"Drop the sword and get up against the wall," Johanna snapped. "Now."

"You wish to engage in combat with me, _abbess?_" Finnick chuckled. "You know, I always heard that-"

The axe came swinging, but Finnick was quicker, and he ducked out of the way as he dragged Gale with him and darted out of the study.

"Get back here!" Johanna roared as she ran after them.

"What the hell have you gotten us into?" Gale hissed as he was dragged down the hallway.

"Shut up, Hawthrone," Finnick said as he ran. "No one asked you to talk."

These people were definitely crazy, Gale decided. Now, where the hell was Katniss when you needed her?

/ / /

"What are you doing here?" Maysilee hissed as the cloaked figure came into her room.

The man chuckled. "You know, I suppose it _would _be rather inappropriate if I were to be found in your room, especially since you now appear to be a nun, but-"

"Shut up, Abernathy," she snapped at him as she drew the curtains across the large window.

He lit a candle and lay on her bed. "Not happy to see me, are you?"

"Get the hell off of my bed, you little shit," Maysilee said roughly.

"Why?" he waggled his eyebrows. "Are you afraid a pure abbot like me is going to try and rob an innocent nun such as yourself of her virtue-"

"Pure my ass." Maysilee rolled her eyes. "And you know very well that-"

"How many years has it been?" Haymitch asked her.

"What, since we were young and stupid?" Maysilee retorted.

"Now, now, Donner. Don't go wounding my feelings-"

She glared at him. "More like your damned _pride_-"

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten-"

"Yes, and it's not as though you were at all _innocent_-"

He let out a sigh. "You knew very well that I was betrothed when you met me-"

"Yes, and if you'd done the honorable thing-"

"Oh ho! The _honorable _thing, is it?" Haymitch crossed his arms. "I'll have you know-"

"... was such an _idiot_, I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I must have been incredibly drunk-"

"You know very well that you weren't drunk!" he shouted. "Good gods, woman, are you really going to insult me by saying that I had to get you _drunk_ in order to seduce you-"

"You will watch your mouth, _abbott_, seeing as you're not supposed to be polytheistic-"

He rose from the bed. "Like I give a shit about that-"

"Well, you should-"

"Anyway, that's beside the point, because I know you're just trying to bring us off the topic of how exactly-"

"Excuse me if I don't really like talking about how you stole my maidenhead-"

"I _stole _it?" Haymitch's voice rose, and his face looked thunderous. "What kind of insult are you-"

Maysilee didn't seem to care. "Yes, and by doing so, ruined my life!"

"No one even _knew _about it except for the two of us, so you can't say-"

"Then you had to go and marry that Trinket slut-"

"Only because her family had information-"

"Information, information!" Maysilee screamed. "Well, very good! That's fantastic news, Abernathy! I hope she gave you all sorts of sexual diseases that resulted from her whoring around-"

"Excuse me, that is my _wife _you are speaking of, you would do very well to say her name with courtesy instead of uttering some rude insult-"

"Just thirty seconds ago, you were talking about how you only married her because House Trinket has ties to the cardinal-"

"And I'll have you know that as far as I can tell, she didn't give me any type of disease-"

"You wouldn't even know if a horse ran you over!" she shrieked.

"Besides, who cares if she bedded other men? I wasn't aware that having sex was a crime-"

"Yes, because no one else wanted to marry the _Whore_ of House Trinket, and yet, _you _just had to-"

"Maysilee-"

"Don't you _dare _say my name, you filthy piece of shit-" There was a loud rapping noise at the door, and they both jumped. "Shit!" Maysilee screamed at the same time that Haymitch swore under his breath.

"Maysilee!" a voice shouted. "Maysilee, open up!"

"Oh, and I guess now you've invited some new young thing into your bed?" Haymitch asked as he stood up.

"That's none of your business, you married whore-son," Maysilee yanked the front of his robe and began to drag him to the window.

"Maysilee!" the voice at the door shouted. "Maysilee!"

"What the hell are you doing?" Haymitch snapped as he watched her yank aside the curtains and kick the window open.

"None of your goddamn business, _abbott_," Maysilee snarled.

His eyes widened for a second before they darkened. "Oh no, you're not going to-"

She gave him a saccharinely sweet smile. "Goodbye, abbott. Good day to you."

Haymitch went sailing out of the window and into the night.

Maysilee didn't wait to hear the thump as she fastened the locks on the window, hands trembling with anger.

"Maysilee!" the voice shouted, more urgent now. "Maysilee, there is a rather pressing matter at hand that I-"

"Shut up!" she screamed as she yanked the curtains and ran to the door.

/ / /

_"The knight and his lady,_

_he promised her that he would return from his quest. _

_Year after year she waited,_

_summers waned, autumns fell, winters cooled, and springs died._

_And still, she waited._

_Suits of marriage did she refuse,_

_and all thought her mad to do so. _

_'I promised my lord,' she would say. 'I promised him, and I shall wait.'_

_When at last she was still a maid of five and twenty and all hope seemed lost-"_

"Enough," Peeta said to Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid.

The young man frowned. "Sir, does it displease you?"

"I would have more encouraging fare be sung to me," Peeta sniffed.

Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid frowned. "But sir, I do not understand. The tale has a happy resolution-"

"Do you really think that I want to be told I shall have to wait _years _to find my beautiful wife?" Peeta snapped before he let out a sigh. "Oh, how her heart must ache for me!"

Billy coughed. "Sir, you are not yet married to Knight Everdeen."

Peeta let out another dramatic sigh as he put a hand over his chest. "My dear friend, we are not married in name, but we are wed in our hearts. That is the only thing that matters."

Billy seriously wondered if yours truly was the only sane one in their trio. "Very good, sir," he said stiffly.

Peeta patted him on the shoulder. "Come now, my good man! Cheer up! We shall reach the castle within the week, and then we can together embark on the finest quest of my life-"

Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid burst into song once more, clearly unable to further contain himself.

_"The moment that she laid her eyes on him,_

_she knew that she loved him._

_For all of her days, she would love no other. _

_He knew this as well, _

_and he kissed her hand and declared his love for her for all to see._

_Now, there is always a-"_

"Did I not ask you to stop singing that sordid tale?" Peeta frowned.

Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid shot him a perplexed look. "But sir, I was singing the _happier _parts-"

"Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid?" Billy asked in an exasperated voice.

"Yes?" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid gave him a happy smile.

"Shut up."

"Okay!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid beamed.

/ / /

Katniss walked down the hallway, her footsteps echoing loudly throughout the night. Where the hell was Gale? He said that he'd gone off to go see what exactly was up with Sir Odair, but that had been thirty minutes ago. Still, Katniss wasn't worried. He could take care of himself, her Gale, and-

_"Tall and handsome and true, all these things Sir Finnick was and shall remain. _

_Now, Lady Annie, on the other hand: what a strangeness! _

_For her house was one that found itself most at home when they were at sea. _

_Some whisper that she is a mermaid, and perhaps that is true. _

_For you have only to look at her comfort in the water; _

_if she was not born to a noble family, if her family was not known for its love of the waters:_

_in other lands that are not Panem, perhaps she would be hanged as a witch. _

_Now, stranger still was that when Annie first met Sir Finnick, she was not taken in by him. _

_Oh no, my dears, she did not love this valiant knight like many a lady has in our land. _

_'You are vain, and arrogant, and I detest you,' she said to him. _

_He replied, 'My lady, I find that I am at a-"_

"Annie?" Katniss asked as she came upon the young woman sitting in the garden. "What are you still doing up?"

"Oh, hello, Katniss," Annie said, not turning around as she stared up at the stars. "The sky is still orange even though it's well into the evening, did you know?"

"I noticed," Katniss nodded as she took a seat beside the other knight on the wooden bench. She repeated her question, "What are you still doing up?"

"What are _you _still doing up?" Annie countered.

"I needed to... think," Katniss said.

Annie gave a quick nod of her head. "Interesting."

"Oh?" Katniss rose her eyebrows. "And why is that?"

"I find you more of a do'er than a thinker," Annie said. "Impulsive. Rash. Good-hearted, but having these traits nonetheless."

"And you know this _how_, exactly?" Katniss asked.

"Being ill gives you a strangely large amount of free time," Annie smiled at her.

"I see," Katniss said in reply.

Annie laughed. "No. No, you don't."

/ / /

"You _fool_," Maysilee snapped as she closed the door behind her. "What were you thinking, letting Johanna indulge in her-"

"Excuse me?" Finnick rose his eyebrows. "If I'm correct, _you're _the one who told her it was fine to slay those three spies-"

Gale gave them a perplexed look. "Slay? Johanna?"

They ignored him. "I was being _sarcastic_," Maysilee screamed. "Gods, can _no one _understand me nowadays?"

"Apparently," Finnick said calmly as he crossed his arms. "Really, Maysilee, I'm not squeamish about killing spies, but you know that it is better for the cardinal to think that-"

"I know!" Maysilee shrieked. "_I know!_"

Finnick's face softened. "Maysilee..."

"Don't," she said in a tight voice as she put her face in her hands. She was so damn _tired_. "Don't do your stupid pity thing where you're all gentlemanly, it's too much like _him_, too much-"

Finnick let out a tired sigh. "You do realize the complication this presents us with, don't you?"

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Gale asked as he retrieved the dirk from his sleeve. He supposed he could back out towards the window and make his escape from there, but the quick glimpse that he'd had of it had shown him that it was locked, which presented a problem-

"Put your little knife away, Hawthorne," Finnick snapped irritably. "We are attempting to strategize here, and if you want your sweet Katniss to survive for five bloody _minutes_, you might as well help us."

Gale brandished his knife in anger. "You dare to threaten my lady-"

"_Your _lady?" Finnick's eyes danced with amusement. "I wasn't aware that she was yours."

"She is my best friend, sir," Gale said in a stiff voice. "You would do very well to not threaten her well-being in front of me-"

"We're trying to keep her alive, fool," Maysilee snapped.

"Why do I always appear to be the idiot?" Gale asked angrily.

Finnick glanced at him. "You are only the village idiot if you think you are, Sir Gale."

Well, wasn't that encouraging? "What do you mean, trying to keep her alive?" Gale asked.

Maysilee let out a breath. "You are aware that the cardinal is after her, aren't you?"

Gale nodded. "I'm surprised he hasn't ordered her capture already."

"He is not foolish enough to do so directly, but you can be sure that he has his eye on her," Maysilee went on.

"Tell me," Gale said simply.

He could feel the cold metal of Finnick's sword against his throat once more. "Swear an oath, Sir Hawthorne. On your honor as a knight, on your love for Katniss, on the life of your family - swear it now."

"Swear what?" Gale asked, even though he already knew.

"You know what," Maysilee said in a soft voice.

/ / /

_Her right arm was tired and sore, and she felt as though she would collapse if she continued for any longer, but Annie refused to stop. Knights trained for a few hours every day, and she needed to train twice as hard and twice as long. No matter how late into the night she must practice, it was what she would do, for she would prove herself. "Parry and thrust. Aim your sword correctly," she muttered to herself. "Come on, Annie. Bend your-" _

_"You are holding your blade incorrectly," came a voice from behind her. _

_She nearly jumped, but to do so would be a sign of weakness, and Annie couldn't have that happening. They already laughed at her for what they called a 'ridiculous notion'. She simply arched her eyebrows and refused to turn around. "Oh?" _

_"Yes," said the voice, coming closer and closer to her. "Here." A strong arm attempted to readjust her grip on the sword, but she swatted the intruder's hands away before turning around. _

_"What are you doing here?" Annie asked as she looked into the serious face of Sir Finnick. She had seen him from afar, but had never actually spoken to him face-to-face. She had never bothered, for she knew from the tales that all he did was waste his days wenching and embarking on yet another new quest. She had better things to do than listen to the other ladies at court fawn over his perfect form, and she really didn't care to join in their idiotical flutterings. _

_He rose his eyebrows at her question. "This is a training yard, Lady Annie. All knights are allowed here, no matter how late the time is." _

_True enough. But she'd always chosen this time because she knew that none of them would bother to be here. Besides, Erik, the guardsman, let her practice. (Nevermind that he only allowed it because Annie had threatened to tell the king of how Erik always happened to conveniently disappear whenever Princess Diaspa went to take her afternoon nap [naps that always turned out to be lengthier and lengthier as the weeks went by].) "I would have thought that you'd be out seducing some fawning lady," Annie replied. "I'm sure you have no shortage of those." _

_He laughed at that. "Oh, I don't bother with boring maidens," he said. "I may be corrupt, but I do have principles, you know." _

_She arched her eyebrows. "Are you telling me that you don't bed respectable ladies?" _

_He winked at her. "Only the ones who are chaste. You see, Lady Annie, if I were to bed them, they would go running to their lord fathers about how I had taken their maidenheads, and then I would be stuck in some dull marriage. I wouldn't want that, would I now?"_

_Annie rolled her eyes. "No, I suspect you wouldn't." _

_"Besides," he went on, "I find widows and married women much more of a challenge. They don't yield over so easily, you know. And I do love challenges." _

_Her eyes danced. "I suppose you're going to-"_

_"Dance with me," he interrupted her. _

_She gave him an angry look. "I will not have you mock me, sir-" _

_His eyes were dark and set as he drew his blade from its hilt, the metal singing in the night as it came free from its sheath. "With your sword, my lady." _

_She smiled then, a real smile as she had not done for weeks. "As you wish." Their blades touched, and they began their dance across the yard. _

/ / /

"Is the song true?" Katniss asked as the other knight hummed to herself.

Annie smiled at her. "True enough."

"Why don't you come back to court with us?" Katniss inquired.

"I would be a burden to Finnick and those that would wish to keep me safe," Annie said simply. "You know how such things are, Knight Everdeen."

Katniss frowned. "But he loves you, Annie."

"Does he?" Annie asked. "Sometimes I wonder."

"You know he does," Katniss insisted. "Anyone can see it."

"And therein lies the problem, if you speak truthfully." Annie answered. "There are those who would use his love for me to hurt him, and I won't have that, Knight Everdeen. No, better to have him love me from a distance and for us to have tiny bits of happiness than to have-"

There was a loud thump and the sound of muffled yelling in the distance, and they both stood up. "They've come for me," Katniss said as she drew her sword.

Annie arched her eyebrows. "I think not, Knight Everdeen. But we shall proceed to whatever disturbance has come to this nunnery. Come."

/ / /

"The girl is an idiot, but we must bide our time," Coin sighed as she dipped her head back into the water.

Plutarch crossed his arms and gave her a frown. "I find her rather amusing."

"But still an idiot," Coin said, eyes closed. "Stop looking over my body like you want to ravish me, Heavensbee."

He choked on the wine that he was drinking. "Who said that I was looking at you?"

Her eyes fluttered open, and she gave him a lazy smile. "I know many things, Heavensbee."

He laughed at that. "Do you _want _me to ravish you?"

"Not now," she waved her hand airily. "I'll allow you that honor once I deem that our task has finished. Make sure that you do a good job. I don't want any messy afterthoughts-"

He rose his eyebrows. "You're serious?"

"No," she rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole, Heavensbee. Now, get out of my bathroom before I throw a servant at you, you desperate little puppy."

His eyebrows arched even higher on his head. "Is that how you murdered all seven of your husbands?"

She laughed. "Now, why would I tell you such a thing, Heavensbee?"

"I would think that after working together for so long-"

"Get out," she said in a bored voice. "You are getting wearisome."

/ / /

"Ow," the figure muttered irritably, the noise becoming louder and louder as they approached. "Ow, ow, shit, what the hell, ow-"

"Haymitch?" Annie asked, tucking her knife back inside her cloak as she ran to the figure. "Are you alright?"

"Annie!" the man laughed. "Finally, a sane person!"

She gave him a sad smile. "I fear that I'm not quite sane anymore, my good abbott."

"What's going on here?" Katniss asked, sword still drawn. _What the hell was up with these people?_

"This is Haymitch," Annie said in a cheerful voice. "He's the abbott of the nearby-"

"Sir Haymitch?" Katniss rose her eyebrows. "The one who wed the Whore of House Trinket?"

Haymitch shot her an affronted look. "You are speaking of my wife, young missy."

"You're going to tell me that the rumors of her bringing a different man to bed with her every night is false?" Katniss inquired. "That her behavior is what drove you to become an abbott? Would you deny that tale?"

"You are speaking of my wife," Haymitch snapped at her. "And you would do very well to remember it, girl."

"I am no girl," Katniss said.

"No," Haymitch shook his head. "You are an insolent little pup-"

"How _dare_ you!" Katniss snapped. "I'll have you know that I am most definitely far more intelligent than you, for any person with sense would never wed-"

Annie let out a cough. "Haymitch, how did you come to lie here? I did not realize that lying on the floor in a non-drunken stupor was on your list of habits."

He shot Katniss an angry look even as he answered Annie. "_Someone _pushed me out of the window. Well, _threw _me out is a more appropriate definition-"

Annie arched her eyebrows. "She _threw _you out? What on earth did you say to her?"

"Who?" Katniss' eyes widened. She wanted to go congratulate whoever had done it and dance the kumbayah with them.

"Nothing!" Haymitch exclaimed. "It's not my fault that she's a psycho-"

Annie seemed amused now. "Perhaps if both of you weren't such proud idiots-"

"What?" Haymitch gave her an agahst look. "I'm not an idiot!"

Annie laughed. "Oh, very well. If you say so, abbott."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he frowned at her.

"Excuse me?" Katniss waved her hand. "Have you guys forgotten that I'm standing right here? Hello?"

"Yes," Haymitch replied.

"Come, let's get you fixed up," Annie said. "I take it that you didn't break your back or anything."

"I may be getting old, my dear girl, but I'll have you know that I still know how to hold onto tree branches and slide down-"

Annie let out a snort of laughter. "Firstly, if you had slid down _properly_, you wouldn't have landed on your back. Secondly, do you really need to make such an innuendo in front of our maiden ears?"

Haymitch's eyes rose. "Why, Lady Annie. I didn't know that you thought such dirty thoughts. I wasn't even trying to imply something dirty, and yet-"

"I may be maiden, but I am no prude," Katniss rolled her eyes. (In actuality, she had no idea as to what sort of innuendo they were talking about, but she didn't want to seem like a dumb-shit.)

They ignored her. "Oh, you know you were," Annie smiled.

"Even if I was," Haymitch said, "you'd be one to talk, Lady Annie! If I remember, you are no longer a maiden, and have not been one for quite some time-"

The flames and the still-orange sky barely illuminated their surroundings, but Katniss could see the blush that colored Annie's cheeks. "What I do with Sir Odair is none of your business, abbott."

He gave her a look. "You're like a daughter to me, my dear girl. Now, if Finnick-"

Annie let out an amused chuckle. "Very well. Should I tell you the last time that Sir Finnick and I-"

He rolled his eyes. "You can tell me all the explicit details during confession."

"As if I would," Annie said. "Really, one would think that you-" A loud shout from above interrupted her. "That rather sounds like Johanna, doesn't it?"

"It does," Haymitch nodded. "Oh, hell, I better go. She's probably after me for stealing her wine."

Katniss coughed. "You _stole _her wine?"

Haymitch gave her a lazy smile. "I have nothing better to do."

/ / /

"Babies," Peeta murmured in his sleep.

"_What?_" Billy asked. He was the first one on watch tonight, and he'd been hoping for a quiet silence.

"Babies," Peeta repeated, a content smile on his face. "Oh, my lady, look how they keep on popping out from between your beautiful legs!"

_Holy shit,_ Billy thought to himself. Peeta really _was_ turning into a pussy. Wait, since when had the knight _not _been a pussy? "Sir," Billy said. "Babies do not _pop_ out."

"They are beautiful," Peeta murmured, rolling over. "Oh, they are prettier than the unicorns I saw dancing on the magical rainbow full of gold!"

Billy decided right then and there that if he went to take a shit out in the field and came back, Peeta would probably have shut up by then. (Actually, he had a feeling that Peeta would still be talking, but he didn't want to think about that.) "I'm going to go take a shit," he announced loudly to his sleeping companions.

"Even your excrement is beautiful, Lady Everdeen!" Billy could hear Peeta singing as he walked away. "Or should I call you Lady Mellark? We are wed now, and I do love the sound of my name on you."

Billy realized that this was indeed going to be a very long journey back to court.


	4. Part 4

A/N: Apologies for the delay in updating! I've had things to deal with in real-life, and haven't been able to update as often as I would like.

That being said, thank you so much to Dori (hulamoth), who continues to be an amazing roommate, and who always does her best to keep me in the _Hunger Games_ fandom. This chapter is for you, but not just you, dear.

To all of my ontd_asoiaf peeps and my _aSoIaF_ Tumblr peeps, especially: Clare (sancta_terra), my loafkin of loafkins; Vassiliki (biliki), my darling sis; and Simone (terenewen), cousin of cousins: this is for you guys as well. I highly doubt any of you are ever going to read this fic, but it's the thought that counts, right? Yes? Okay, I hope so. 3

I don't really agree or advocate with the casting suggestions that have been made, and the actors / actresses who have been clambering to be in the films are all crashing bores to me, but two words: Maisie Williams. She _must_ be in the films. More talent and adorability than all of those names that are being thrown around, true fact. Don't know who she is? Watch this and fall in love with her: youtube[dot]com/watch?v=H126QxKzfnw

Thanks to everyone who gave me their feedback: Anonymous, Annony, Kate, Tawynfur, Khamcanmoo, SQUISHPIE ExplorativeComet, MrsJamesPotter1, and Solaryllis - thank you! To everyone who added this to their favorites and alerts: thank you, again! Anyhow, here we go! Feedback would, as always, be lovely and much appreciated. (:

Part IV

"Maysilee!" Johanna shouted as she banged quite unsubtly on her friend's door. "Maysilee, open up!"

"Oh, hell," Finnick muttered under his breath.

"I suppose I have to fix this problem as well?" Maysilee shot him a vexed look.

"It's not my fault she doesn't believe me," Finnick gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's sad that some women pretend that they're not susceptible to my charms, when they really-"

"Shut up," Maysilee snapped at him.

"Maysilee!" Johanna seemed to be banging even harder on the door.

"Can you leave by the window?" Maysilee gestured her head.

Finnick made a face at her. "Honestly, you seem to believe that we knights must be like that idiot Peeta Mellark, never knowing how to-"

"Just get out." Maysilee gave an irritated shake of her head. "Now, please, before I change my mind and gut you both."

Finnick's eyes twinkled with unuttered laughter, and he gave her a wink. "I'd love to see you try, my dear."

"Can we just leave instead of having you impregnate women with your eyes?" Gale huffed, an annoyed look on his face.

"Maysilee!" Johanna shouted once more.

"I'm coming!" Maysilee yelled. "Just stop waking up the entire nunnery with the racket you're making!"

/ / /

_Peeta was having a very nice dream. In the dream, Katniss came to him in a beautiful white gown, and she sang to him that she would forever be his lady and that she would love no other. There were dancing unicorns, and the entire court stood by and watched as his lips touched his lady's, as he wove his fingers through her hair, where dozens of white doves fluttered about and sang. _

_"Katniss," he murmured. "Katniss, oh, my queen of beauty, I shall-" _

_"Peeta!" a brusque voice shouted. "Peeta!" _

_Someone was shaking his shoulder - wait, _what_? Katniss would _never _do that! She was such a kind, gentle soul. Oh, no. It must mean that this was some sort of dream, and that would never do! "Katniss," he said to her. "Katniss, I love you, and I would never leave you, not willingly. Some horrid, soulless creature-" _

_"Peeta!" the voice snapped. "Get up!"_

_"Katniss," he said, tears running down his face. "My lady, I take my leave. I never wished to- _

He jolted awake, gasping as he shot forward and bumped head-first into a familiar figure. "Ow!" the person muttered. "Damn it, Peeta, you have to stop doing that-"

"Oh, my head!" Peeta exclaimed groggily. "I shall take days to recover!"

"It's your turn to watch," Billy said, and Peeta wasn't sure, but he thought that he detected a hint of exasperation in his companion's voice.

"Oh, is it?" Peeta blinked.

Billy shot him a strange look, and then shook his head before he lay himself down on the soft grass. "I - yeah."

"Billy?" Peeta asked.

"G'night," his friend muttered, and then there was silence.

Well, for the most part. Peeta thought he could hear Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid giggling in his sleep about "peaches" and "whipped cream" and "sparkly snowflakes", but he didn't care to walk the few paces over and investigate that thought.

Still, he was going to be up for a few hours, so he might as well stand up and stretch himself, he supposed. A knight must always keep fit, and Peeta would not do his house any dishonor by doing something to contradict that. As he rose to his feet, however, a gust of wind blew his way, and a patch of dandelions dancing side to side caught his eye.

"Ooh!" Peeta shouted as he knelt down and picked a few. "She loves me," he sang as he plucked off a petal, "She loves me more," he went on, "She loves me best!"

Billy rolled over and shot him a dirty look. "Peeta, with that racket you're making, it's a wonder anyone can sleep."

Peeta let out a sad sigh. "Oh, but Billy, haven't you ever been in love before?"

Billy made a face. "Yes."

"Ooh!" Peeta beamed. "Can we visit her?"

"She married someone else."

"Oh," Peeta said softly, frowning. "I - well, _that's _unfair!" he exclaimed.

Billy rolled his eyes. "A lot of things are unfair, Peeta. It is the way of our world."

Peeta let out a loud, overdramatic sigh. "Never fear, my good and loyal liege! We shall rush to that villain's manor and rescue her from his roguish clutches!"

Billy drew his cloak over his head in response, hoping that Peeta would take a hint.

The knight did not do so, however. "So how shall we go about this?" Peeta asked. "I will gather a company of the finest knights in the realm, and then we shall head to this scoundrel's estate..."

/ / /

"Why are there so many people being flung from Maysilee's window this evening?" Annie rose her eyebrows.

"Hello, dear," Finnick winked at her as Gale muttered obscenities under his breath.

"What the hell is going on?" Katniss asked as the yelling above them diminished.

"Not very appropriate words for a highborn maiden to say, don't you think?" Haymitch laughed.

"Not very amusing of you, is it?" Katniss snapped at him.

"Can everyone just shut up for one minute so that Johanna doesn't figure out that we're here?" Gale shot them all a dirty look.

"We leave in the morning, so you might as well get some sleep, Hawthorne," Finnick had an amused look on his face before he turned his attention to Annie. "Might I have the pleasure of escorting you back to your room, Lady Annie?"

Her eyes danced with unsung laughter as she looped her arm through his. "Of course, sir. Now, you see, I was going to ask you what your thoughts were on the magical properties of a unicorn horn-"

Finnick's smile widened as they walked away. "Oh? I didn't know that you had such an object, my lady."

"I asked your opinion on the matter, my good knight, not your knowledge as to whether I owned one or not. In fact, if I recall correctly..." Their voices faded away as they disappeared down the hall, but Gale could still hear the occasional burst of laughter.

"Well," Haymitch said as he drew himself up. "I suppose I have to get back to my monastery. There is much business to attend too, but - ow!"

"What is it?" Katniss snapped, not the least bit concerned. For all she knew, he was faking it.

"My back," he growled. "You," he pointed at Gale. "Escort me back."

Gale let out a laugh. "You presume to give _me _orders?"

"I'll bring you back," Katniss drew herself up, wanting to see what mischief this man was up to.

Haymitch rolled his eyes. "I think not. Capable you may be, Knight Everdeen, but do not think that the monks shall not whisper about their abbott being brought back by a woman. It will be the end of me-"

"And why should I care?" Katniss shot at him.

Haymitch gave her a lazy smile. "Very well. Escort me, if you must. But don't complain when the whole realm hears that you were seen killing a group of innocent monks and nuns as they begged for their lives. The peasants might tolerate your silly ramblings, Everdeen, but I highly doubt that they would stand for a savior who beats on some poor, helpless monks-"

"You lie," Katniss spat. "They wouldn't believe you."

"Oh?" Haymitch rose his eyebrows. "Do you care to investigate that claim, Everdeen? Besides, it wouldn't be me spreading the word, would it? It'd be my-"

Gale hit him on the head, hard enough to leave a bump. "Shut up and let's go," he growled. "If you threaten Katniss again, I'll make that the least of your worries."

Haymitch shot him an incredulous look. "You hit me! _You_ hit _me_! You're supposed to be a bloody knight-"

Gale rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Chivalry and all that good shit, right? Whatever. Now shut up if you don't want me to do it again, and let's head back to your façade of a monastery."

/ / /

"I do not think that that our guests take kindly to you wielding axes at them," Maysilee said in a calm voice. "I mean, really, Jo, if word were to get out-"

Johanna paced agitatedly around the room. "You didn't think it was important to tell me that Finnick Odair-"

"You didn't think it was wise to reconsider before you ran at him with an axe?" Maysilee rose her eyebrows. "It is rash, Jo, and not at all how you should proceed-"

"What, so now I have to follow some sort of protocol?" Johanna snarled. "I think not."

Maysilee crossed her arms. "Do not think that I am not above doing-"

"What?" Johanna snapped. "Threatening me? Killing me off? Tell me something I don't already know, _abbess_."

"I'll tell you something," Maysilee's voice was low and angry. "Don't think for a second that you're the one giving orders around here. _I _am in charge, and if I have to remind you of that, I will. I may be your friend, Johanna Mason, but I am your fucking _superior_, and you will _listen_ and _obey_. And if you don't want to do that, you're welcome to leave or go and bring it up with Coin."

Johanna's eyes flashed. "Is that all you had to say? Or are we done here?"

Maysilee ran a hand through her hair. "I believe it should go without saying that-"

"Katniss and her little entourage won't be harmed?" Johanna waved her hand. "Yeah, I get it."

Maysilee gave her a smile that held no humor. "Good. I suppose you're beginning to understand, Jo."

Johanna let out a snort as she strode to the door. "Understanding why you're so moody and bitchy today? Not at all. I wasn't aware that you were PMS'ing, but I guess I was wrong."

"Amuse yourself all you wish," Maysilee said. "But I will not tolerate-"

The door slammed shut, and she let out an angry breath as she went to lock it. Was _everyone _intent on making her angry today? Really, the nerve!

/ / /

"How long have you been in love with Katniss?" Haymitch asked as they strolled down the path.

Gale laughed. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

"You're part of the operation now, boy, and there are no secrets among us."

"Really?" Gale rose his eyebrows. "I find that hard to believe."

Haymitch smirked. "Oh, you're a clever one, aren't you? There are secrets, Sir Hawthorne, as many as there are drops of water and slivers of moonlight."

"I suppose that means I don't have to tell you the nature of my relationship with Katniss, then," Gale answered.

"Oh, please," the older man rolled his eye. "Anyone with sense could see it from a mile off."

Gale refused to take the bait. "What? That we're best friends? I suppose that's obvious enough."

"You love her," Haymitch declared. "That's enough to make you protect her and risk anything for her, isn't it? Good," he said, without waiting for an answer. "That's good. We need someone like that by her side."

"And if I were to leave her one day?" Gale rose his eyebrows. "I'm not saying that I love her, but say I did? Leave her, I mean."

Haymitch gave him a knowing smile. "You won't. Not unless you're forced to. And even then, I think that you'd make your way back to her. That's just the way you are, young Hawthorne."

"How can you be so sure?" Gale asked.

"How can you be so sure that I'm sure?" Haymitch grinned.

"If you're trying to be clever, you sound like an idiot," Gale pointed out.

"Better to be taken for a fool than a wise man," the abbott said. "They will say things to a fool they will not say to a wise man. You know this, do you not?"

"A wonder that anyone shouldn't," Gale shrugged.

"Ah, but therein lies the truth. Not everyone does."

"Can you just shut up so that we can walk the rest of the way in silence? Or did you really just ask me to escort you so that I could listen to you regale me with your strange and incorrect findings?"

Haymitch chortled. "You're not quite as clever as you think you are."

"And neither are you," Gale replied.

"We would make a good duo, you know."

"What?" the knight let out a snort of disbelief. "You, running around and saving people? Oh, I highly doubt that. You're a horrid enough abbott as it is."

"Aren't we all?" Haymitch grinned.

"I wasn't aware we were all abbotts."

"Did I say we were?"

"You know what? Do me a favor and shut up, would you?"

"No. I - _ow!_ What was that for?" Haymitch howled as he rubbed his head. "You're supposed to be a bloody chivalrous knight! That doesn't mean you hit me on the head! It means that you're supposed to-"

"Shut up, unless you want me to do it again," Gale shrugged.

/ / /

"You remember, don't you?" Annie asked as she leaned back into him.

"Of course," Finnick said as he ran the comb through her hair. "And I'll be back before you know it, my lady."

Annie laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "I think I'll be the one on my way to you, sir."

Finnick frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, even though he knew very well what she meant.

"That Everdeen girl is going to make a mess of everything," Annie said. "And that's what Coin wants, isn't it? A mess?"

"You give her far too much credit," Finnick sighed.

"Everdeen?" Annie smiled. "I know that you do as well, Finn."

"I believe I'd rather bestow that credit on you, my lady," Finnick pressed his lips to her hair. "I find you much more interesting, whereas Everdeen is-"

"Predictable and rash?" Annie offered.

Finnick let out a laugh. "I was going to say that she had a fiery temperament, but-"

"It's her fire that will bring the whole realm to pieces," Annie sighed. "You know, I do believe I'll come to court sooner or later."

Finnick's fingers stilled, quite unable to believe what he was hearing, and the comb lay nestled in her hair. "What?"

She smiled. "I think I'll be dressed up as a page. Oh! Or a maid, perhaps! No one would ever notice a maid. Perhaps I could adopt some sort of strange accent - you know, I've always wanted to-"

Finnick laughed. "I would rather you come as yourself, my dear."

"Oh? But imagine the fun I could have as a maid! And the scandal you'd face: wouldn't that be amusing? I can see it now, the maids whispering about how Sir Odair had forgotten his lady love and fallen in love with some common-"

He turned her to face him. "That isn't quite as funny as you make it out to be, my lady."

Her eyes danced. "Now, now, Sir Odair. You're not to take things too seriously, you know."

He took her hands in his. "But you see, you've already put this idea in my head, and I can't possibly-"

There was a loud knock on the door. "Annie!" Maysilee called. "Are you up yet?"

"Your cue to go," Annie mouthed at him.

He smiled at her, but it was a sad one. "Well, I can't just exit your room without my shirt on, can I?"

"Oh?" she rose her eyebrows. "So you're going to put your shirt on but not your pants? Now, I suppose some people would think that worse, but _I _think-"

Finnick laughed as he stood up and reached for his clothes. "I will miss you, my lady."

"As will I," she said as he traced his finger across her face.

/ / /

It was Peeta's turn for watch again, and he paced around, wondering how exactly he should continue with the wooing of his wife. True, she loved him and he loved her, but he needed to make it more... what? Special? Yes, that was it! She was so far away from him that it hurt his heart. Oh, how he bled inside for her! Her tender caress, the smile on her face, the dandelions he would place in her hair - he did not know how long it would take for him to see her again, but any time was too long for him.

He opened his mouth to sing, something that Billy had told him was foolish and irritating, but Peeta did not care.

_"I met her on a sunny day, _

_when she was on her way. _

_'My lady,' I proclaimed. 'Ill met are we!' _

_'Ill met?' she asked. 'Oh, Sir Peeta, you are gallant and kind! _

_I simply toy with you, and tease you so that you may pursue me!' _

_What a vixen was she, a minx and beauty. _

_I fell in love with her immediately, and declared myself as hers." _

There was a strange shuffling sound, but Peeta credited it to the wind. Billy had said in the past couple of days that they had to be careful, and so they'd taken to traveling under the cover of night instead of day, but Peeta didn't believe any of that nonsense. Why, who would dare to hurt him? He was Peeta, valiant protector of the small, knight in shining armor! The people loved him! They would never hurt him!

_"Although she unhorsed me,_

_I knew it to be true. _

_That she would love me till the end of her days,_

_and I would love her too. _

_My loving wife for whom everything is perfect, _

_she is perfect too. _

_Everything about her - eyes, lips, nose, _

_excrement, anger, smell - _

_there has never been a fairer woman. _

_Though we are far away and-" _

There it was! That sound again! Peeta turned around to investigate, and found himself face to face with a grinning man. A nasty-looking man, to be honest. He had scars up and down his face, and there was a knife in his hand. "Good day!" Peeta sang as he drew his sword.

The man rose his eyebrows, although only slightly. "So you are not as foolish as you seem, it appears."

"Meet my steel with yours, scoundrel!" Peeta sang. "Or I shall-" There was a sudden pain at the back of his head, and Peeta fell to the ground, unconscious.

"You could have hit him harder," the man with the knife let out a chortle of laughter.

"We have his companions," the other man replied, gesturing his head. "Shall we?"

"We shall," the scarred man smiled, his grin widening. What an interesting day it was becoming.

/ / /


	5. Part 5

A/N: For the usual suspects: Dori (hulamoth), Clare (sancta_terra), and Simone (terenewen). What would I do without you?

Thanks so much to everyone who read this and put it on their favorite or alerts! To those who gave me their feedback on the last chapter: Sheila Chiaroscura, Anonymous, and Annony: thank you!

And to taragel, who nominated this story over at The Pearl Awards: thanks for continuing to read this and being one of my biggest supporters. Also, for laughing and being general in awesome and now I shall stop rambling. Yes.

Now, on to the story! Enjoy, dearies! And, as usual, feedback would be lovely.

Part V

Peeta could hear voices, but he wasn't too concerned about that. What he was really alarmed at was the matter of his itching skin, due to the fact that he had some sort of scratchy cloth draped on his face. He swore he could feel something moving, and he shuddered.

"That one's awake," said a gruff voice.

"How do you know?" responded a soft, lilting voice. A female? Here? With these rogues? Did she need saving as well? Whoever it was reminded Peeta of Katniss and the golden sounds that came out of her beautiful mouth. He imagined her distressing over the fact that he had been taken captive, and he let out a sigh. She should not have to fear, for she should know that he loved her with all his heart. His gentle Katniss, her lovely soul, her caring hands-

There was a sharp pain to his left rib, and Peeta let out an affronted shout. "Ow!"

"What did I tell you?" The gruff voice sounded smug.

"Oh, very funny." The soft voice didn't sound the least bit amused.

Peeta decided at that very moment that he would give them names. "Gruff Voice! Unhand me and Soft Voice this very moment! As a knight of the realm, I command you to do so!"

He could hear the sneer in Gruff Voice's voice. "You hear that, dear? He's already given us names."

Soft Voice let out a snort. "How endearing."

"What do you want?" Peeta asked. "A song? My love? My lands? Gold? You shall have none, villains! Release me and Soft Voice!"

Another flash of pain, once more to his left rib. "_Shut up_," Soft Voice's voice became strangely rough.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Peeta sighed. "They are making you do such atrocious things! You have been forced to harm me! Oh, Soft Voice!"

They were hissing to each other now, and Peeta thought he heard Gruff Voice say something like "... could actually be a total idiot". He let out another sigh. How could people be so _mean_? He was a nice person! And he was smart! He'd won a tourney, after all! Fair maidens had scrambled over each other to give him their tokens to wear in the Arena!

Well, perhaps his captors didn't like him because he wasn't singing a song? Should he sing one to convince them? He should! Peeta opened his mouth,

_"On the day I won my tourney, _

_there were many gathered there! _

_Fair maidens and square-laid tiles and-"_

There was a blow to the back of his head, a muttering of "I told you so" (from who, Peeta couldn't tell), and then all was black once more.

/ / /

"The sky is still orange," Annie frowned as Finnick pressed his lips to her forehead. "You have everything, don't you?"

He nodded. "You remember what I told you?"

She smiled at him. "My sword's still as sharp as ever, good sir, don't you worry."

Finnick laughed. "Not just that, my lady. What you are to do if-"

Annie gave him a curt nod. "Don't do anything stupid, Finnick."

He let out a sigh. "I'll promise you that, but I don't think I can keep myself from doing anything foolish."

She made a face. "Well, I suppose I can't ask for that, then. But do tell Mags I said hello, will you? And that I'll come to visit her soon enough?"

There was a sad look in his eyes. "I will," he said softly, and then pressed his lips to her forehead one last time. "Annie, I-"

"You have to go," she said, gesturing past his head at Katniss and Gale, who were astride and doing their best to mask their impatience and pretend that they could hear nothing of this conversation.

He nodded. "I'll come back."

Annie smiled at that. He always came back. Always. "Or I'll meet you halfway there."

The sky was still orange when they were nothing more than small dots in the distance, and Annie stood at the top of the hill, knowing that Finnick was looking back every now and then, even though they were so far apart.

"Annie?" asked a voice that came up behind her. "Can I join you?"

"Johanna," she smiled at the abbess. "Hello there."

"It's still quite early in the day, isn't it?" the other woman frowned. "And yet-"

"The sky is still orange," Annie finished for her, a frown on her face. "I suppose half the realm is wondering what it all means?"

"Well, more than half," Johanna let out a laugh. "I'd say..." she trailed off suddenly.

"Yes?" Annie rose her eyebrows.

Johanna finally settled with, "It's nice and quiet up here in the morning."

Annie nodded. "It is that."

/ / /

_"Your sword is singing," Finnick practically sang his words. "Do you find the tune amusing, my lady?" _

_"You forget that yours is singing as well," Annie said as she quickly spun to the side to avoid his blade. "And why is that? Mere stupidity on your part, I suppose?" _

_He pressed the attack, but she held her own, as Finnick had expected. "I never said that my sword wasn't singing," he pointed out. "I was merely-" _

_There was the sound of shouts that could be heard over the din of metal upon metal, and they halted their swords simultaneously. _

_"Douse all the flames but one," Annie commanded him. _

_Finnick frowned. "Are the doors barred?" _

_"Douse the flames," she repeated as she set to finding a pail of water. _

_The shouts were getting louder now, and a cacophony of screams was joining it."I must go," he said, drawing himself up. _

_"Now without me, you're not," Annie said as she drew her hood over her head, abandoning her search for the pail of water. He found it amusing how she had changed her mind so quickly, wanting to close both of them off and fight whatever onslaught came in here one moment to rushing out to whatever it was outside the next one. She wanted the battle, he supposed. Some did. _

_He rose his eyebrows. "Lady Annie-" _

_"You know I'll just follow even if you try to make me stay in here, so what's the point?" _

_Finnick knew she was right, but that didn't stop him from letting out a sigh. The girl could fight, he would give her that, but he didn't know if she'd be able to hold her own. It made no matter if it was a woman or a man, for there were many who got their first taste of a raid or battle and stood mute and shocked or ran fleeing from the scene, shrieking with terror. There had been brave knights and brave peasants and brave ladies and brave everything, but you did not really know how any of it felt until you tasted it, and many of them had been in fear, suddenly in loss of their wits. You needed all the wit and skill and luck that you had during a raid or a battle, for without those things, you would surely fall. _

_"Are we going yet?" Annie asked, and Finnick's gaze swept over her. She had pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, and he was willing to bet that anyone who saw her from behind would think her a young man. _

_"Do you remember where the secret entrance is?" he inquired. _

_She smiled at that, as though she had known all of the secret passageways for years. He wondered if she had, but thought the notion ridiculous the next. She hadn't been at court for that many years, if he remembered correctly. "Of course I do." _

_Finnick shook his head in amusement. Was there anything that wasn't strange about this young woman? _

_"Well?" Annie looked over her shoulder, an impatient expression on her face. "Aren't you coming, Odair?" _

_A grin spread across his face, and he hastened after her. _

/ / /

They had dressed in the garb of the common folk. Finnick had done it to avoid drawing attention, Gale had done it because his armor was so damn itchy, and Katniss... well, Katniss had done it because she had gotten an earful from Gale until she'd conceded. He'd never had a problem with her donning her armor before. But now it seemed that they needed to take "extra precautions" (as he'd nicely put it). She knew that there had been attempts on her life, but really, it was so dramatic of him to worry. Then again, he wouldn't be her best friend if he didn't do his equal share of fretting, so Katniss supposed that she should have expected it.

In the beginning, Finnick had continually looked over his shoulder, and Katniss knew that he must be looking up at Lady Annie, who had been standing up on the hill, the wind billowing through her pale blue dress as she'd watched them leave. Katniss had turned back to see what Finnick had been so fervently turning his head back for, and she got the feeling that the pair had done this many, many times. She wondered what it was like. Was it the same each time? A little different? Did Annie run faster on her way up the hill? Did she stay longer? For how long?

Katniss remembered the way that she had done something similar so many years ago. She remembered her lord father sweeping her up in his arms, promising her that he would be back soon. She remembered him holding her hand. She remembered running out after him, watching his horse and company depart. The first few times, she had cried. But then she felt Prim next to her, her little sister with her hand clasped in Katniss', and she told herself it was dumb to cry. She had to be brave, for Prim.

Besides, Father wouldn't want to be shamed by having his whole retinue know that his eldest daughter was a whining little slob, did he? No, he wouldn't, Katniss decided. So the next time Father had to leave, she'd held her head up high and made her face still as a stone gargoyle. It didn't stop Prim from crying, but it made Katniss proud to know that she no longer felt like a weak little whelp.

The horses had slowed their furious gallops about eleven minutes prior, but still, none of them were talking, and five hours had already passed. The most words had been between Finnick and herself, about an hour after the nunnery was out of sight. Gale had been glaring the whole time, but all of that chatter had died away after thirty minutes.

"Careful," Finnick said softly, and Katniss looked over at him. She realized then that he was speaking more to the horse than to either of his companions, however, and decided against initiating any sort of conversation.

Silence was dangerous, but it was a guard as well. But whatever it was right now, it simply meant that they would have an extremely long journey. Words made time pass by in such a haste, and if they were going to have none of that, then Katniss wasn't sure _what _they could do to fill up the quiet. Perhaps she could twiddle her thumbs and amuse herself? No, that sounded like an idiotical notion. Well - silence it was, then.

Katniss let out a sigh. This was going to be a very lengthy trip back to court.

/ / /

"... he _talks _too much."

Soft Voice let out an exasperated breath. "... think I don't know that already? I say we just-"

"Take his belongings and run? No,_ look _at him. _Look_. Clearly, he's headed to the castle. We can just make him go to the cardinal along the way and give that shithead a message from us."

"Oh, and you can't do this yourself _why_, exactly?"

"It isn't that our brotherhood doesn't enjoy taking the risk. But you know how much they've ramped up the security with the cardinal-"

"All the better to do it, then. Where's the fun if there's no challenge?"

Gruff Voice's voice was short and brusque. Angry, Peeta decided. "We are not _immortal_, you fool. Do you realize the number of men and women we've lost? Do not _think _that I will-"

"You think that just because it is a knight of the realm that the cardinal will not suspect?"

"Why should he?"

"Let me tell you something, for you appear to be more idiotic than I initially thought-"

What in the name of his snuggly sheep Garlan were they talking about? Peeta decided that this was just a bad dream, that the sky he saw ahead and noises he heard were from the forests near his home, not some strange kidnapping group in the middle of nowhere. "Oh, Katniss," he murmured, tears welling. "Katniss, how you must be grieving for me. My darling, I-"

Two figures were suddenly hovering over him. One was a scowling young woman, her hair loosely tied. She was similar to Katniss in that she wore no appropriate clothes for her gender, nor did she appear to act like a member of the fairer sex - boots, a cloak that covered most of her body, a knife in her hand - pretty, he supposed. Not as pretty as Katniss, of course. But no one was as pretty as Katniss, the beauty of the world, the love of his life. Wait. Were those _scars _on her face? "Get up," the woman snapped.

"What happened to your face?" Peeta asked, horrified. "Have these scoundrels attempted to subdue you?"

There was an angry flash in her eyes, but she revealed nothing. "Get _up_, I said, you little piece of shit."

"Someone's angry," Gruff Voice sing-songed.

"Shut up," she snapped at him before she turned her attention back to Peeta. "You're headed to court, are you not?"

He thrust his face towards her. "How is that any of your business what I do-"

She slapped him. "You don't get to ask any questions, fool. Now, _answer _the question."

He would not stand for this, this atrocity that was happening! How could these bandits make such a poor, helpless young thing do this? It was an insult to all women! All human beings! "Good woman, I know you are being forced to inquire strange questions of me. But let me tell you-"

"He is useless, and I am getting tired of his prattle." Soft Voice snapped at her companion. "I think we should just hang him."

Gruff Voice rose his eyebrows. "Really? Hang him? When there are so much more uses for him?"

"You cannot hang me!" Peeta exclaimed at them, outraged. "I am knight of the realm!"

"You are an idiot, that is what you are," the girl spat. "Peeta Mellark, isn't it? I used to come across your type all the time. You pretend to help the common people, but really, you don't."

"That is a lie!" Peeta shouted. "I love the people, and they love me! In fact, let's go ask them!"

"Shut up!" Soft Voice screamed, her face contorting in rage.

Peeta would have crossed his arms, but he came to realize that they were tightly bound behind his back. "How could you-" There was a hard blow to the side of his head, and all was black. Again.

"I'm afraid you enjoy hitting people a bit too much, dear."

"Shut up, Dar."

/ / /

_"Behind you!" Finnick shouted, even as Annie spun around and raised her blade. _

_It was chaos, everywhere chaos. All that they had seen were fires raging, and screaming. Everywhere, screaming - people begging for mercy, fleeing for their lives, some just shrieking for the sake of it. _

_They had tried to ask passerby what was going on, but all that they had gotten were frightened shouts of, "Siege! Siege!" - which wasn't very useful, especially when it was so obvious that a siege was indeed underway, but neither of them pointed it out to the panicked people. _

_They had been stopped at the bottom of the tower, where they and a group of commoners, soldiers, and knights were with them, trying to fight their way out somehow. Every entrance was blocked, every knowable exit shut. Their only choice to really see what was going on was to get to the top of the tower and from there, onto the roof. More importantly, _someone _needed to light the beacons outside. Light those beacons and the monastery on the secluded hill would see it. Light the beacons and help would come and the people would know. _

_Like many things, however, that was easier said than done. Men all around them were dying, and there was never a single moment of rest. The moment you gutted an enemy, there was another there to take his place. An arrow you ducked one moment would hit you the next. Fire was aimed as well, back and forth, people shouting as they got hit or were narrowly missed. The invaders (or whoever they were) came from all directions, but nonetheless, they and their fellow fighters pressed on, into the onslaught and the fray. _

_Time went on. For how long, Finnick did not know. It could have been mere minutes or hours or perhaps even days and months. All he knew was where his blade was going to strike the next moment, all of it just another step in the dance. Here and there, forward and retreat, backwards and sideways. _

_"Forward!" a soldier ahead of them roared. "In the name of the king and the realm!" _

_Soldiers and commoners alike shouted in response, some screaming the name of their lords and the houses they served, some yelling for the kingdom. Finnick could hear Annie shouting "House Cresta!" every time she moved a little forward. _

_"Forward!" the soldier continued to roar. "Forward, you ninnies! Will you let a bunch of invading pussies beat you? _Forward_, I said!" _

_"House Cresta!" Annie was still shouting before she turned to Finnick, her eyes widening. "Odair!" _

_He drew his dirk and stabbed the man behind him. "Ah, is my name a rallying cry now, Cresta?" _

_She made a face at him as she cut down another invader and moved up a few steps, but her reply was lost as he focused on the incoming men. _

_Left and right, forward and backwards, side to side, retreat, parry, thrust. But no matter how many they slaughtered, more just kept on coming. They were moving up the steps, but at the rate that they were going, barely any survivors would be left. But wasn't that the point? To protect the realm? Who cared the cost, so long as word got out? Any price could be paid for the kingdom. It was supposed to be that way. Not that everyone believed it, of course. But those who were here obviously did. Why else risk their lives? "There are too many!" Finnick shouted at Annie. _

_"I know that!" she yelled back. _

_He was backed up against the (strangely) still-cold wall now, which wasn't a good sign. Some men liked it, as you didn't have to watch your back, but Finnick hated being pressed into the corner. Loathed it, and - oh, here came another one. Would it ever end? _

_There were scratches here and there along his armor, and Finnick - wait. Was that blood? When had he been stabbed? Surely he must have felt it? _

_"Finnick!" Annie was shouting. Goodness, that girl could be so annoying. "Pay _attention_!" she roared at him. He could hear the unspoken words. _You don't want to die, do you? _No, he didn't. _

_Lovely. Just lovely. _

/ / /

"We rest here for the night," Finnick said, drawing his horse to a stop. "Any objections? No? Good."

Katniss snorted. "You didn't even let us voice our opinions."

"That's because I don't need to hear them right now, Knight Everdeen." Finnick had slid off of his horse and headed to the nearest tree. "It's not too dark yet, so we can still scour the treetops."

Katniss frowned as she shot Gale a look. "What?"

When she turned back to where Finnick had previously been, however, there was no sign, except for a rustling of the leaves. "Up here!" they heard a muffled laugh.

"How's the view from up there?" Gale called. "Good?"

"Excellent." Finnick was descending the tree now. "A nice, solid trunk near the top where we can take our watch."

"You don't seriously expect us to sleep up there?" Katniss rose her eyebrows.

Finnick shrugged. "I did say 'watch', my dear Katniss. Not 'sleep'."

"Ha ha," Katniss crossed her arms.

"You don't sound so amused," Finnick laughed.

"That's because I'm not," Katniss snapped.

"There's no need for you to be so rude," Finnick did some strange motion with his eyebrows. "We're going to be traveling companions for quite a while, you know."

"Very funny," Katniss said. "I still don't see why we couldn't have stopped at a village-"

"No," Gale and Finnick chorused at the same time.

Her eyebrows arched even higher. "Is there something I should know?"

"The cardinal is after you," Gale began.

"So? He's been after me for a while, Gale," Katniss pointed out.

"We must reach the castle soon," Gale said. Well, that didn't really provide her with any answers. It was a statement of something so obvious that a squirrel could have figured it out.

"That-" she began.

"I'm going to go shoot some squirrels," Gale announced suddenly.

Katniss frowned.

/ / /


	6. Part 6

A/N: This chapter is for my little sis Vassiliki (biliki), who made me a gorgeous story banner that blew my mind. Thank you for taking up my request even though you had no idea what the _Hunger Games_ were, for finishing it so quickly, and for all those talks and the constant squee sessions we have over Nikolaj. Thanks for everything, hun!

(You can view the story banner at img10[dot]imageshack[dot]us/img10/3337/storybanner[dot]png

Thank you, as always, to my roommate Dori (hulamoth), who always ends up fueling my muse for this story. If you see updates, it's her fault, because even when she's sick and should be asleep, she's talking to me.

Thank you so much to everyone new who added this story to their alerts, and especially to everyone that continues to read and support this story. Thank you so much, you guys. And to anonymous, booksandmusic97, Sheila Chiaroscura, Solaryllis, and Anonny - thank you so much for your delightful feedback!

Anyhow, on to the story! And, as usual, your feedback would be lovely and very much appreciated! (:

Part VI

"Having a fun time shooting squirrels?" Finnick asked as he walked up, his tone indicating nothing but amusement.

Gale made a face. "Very funny."

"Oh, there wasn't anything amusing that I intended," Finnick shrugged. "Although I have to point out that you do appear to be killing the tree instead of the squirrels. Oh, and you're doing it with your knife instead of your arrow-"

"Go away," Gale snapped.

"You know, I think I'll stay just to irritate you," Finnick laughed. "I rather like the sound of that idea."

"I'd like to know how anyone could like you when you're so obnoxious," Gale snorted.

"Do you really want to know?" Finnick arched an eyebrow.

"No," Gale shot him a dirty look. "Can you please go away?"

"So that you can vent at the helpless tree and have your little therapy session?" Finnick crossed his arms as the wide grin on his face spread even further. "No, I think I'll stay."

"Asshole," Gale muttered under his breath. He didn't think that anyone had ever annoyed him half as much as Finnick had. Oh, wait - Peeta! But that was beside the point. The _point _was that-

"I'm going to go get some wood." Finnick's boots crunched against the fallen leaves as he walked away. "Have fun shooting imaginary squirrels, Hawthrone."

/ / /

"Shall you confess to your crimes?" Soft Voice asked.

They had been marched onto a platform before a gathered crowd of ruffians, all of whom were doing their best to look scary, what with their dirty weapons and horrible fashion choices and weird hair-dos. To Peeta, however, none of them were the least bit frightening. He was strengthened by Katniss' love, and so long as he had that beacon of light, he would endure.

"I have committed none," Peeta said stoutly.

"You lie," Soft Voice paced back and forth. "Your mother is the Lady of House Mellark, is she not?"

Peeta's face brightened. "Mommy? Is she here?"

"How sweet." Soft Voice looked as though she wanted to gag. "Do you know what crimes your mother is guilty of?"

"She is guilty of nothing but _loving_ me!" Peeta shouted. "How dare you!"

"She has raised exorbitant taxes in order to fund for her stupid little parties and gowns while the people on _your _land that _you_ should be taking care of are starving."

"She would never!" Peeta exclaimed. "Besides, what does this have to do with me?"

"Did you not carry out her orders? Did you not go to collect the taxes?"

"I am no tax collector!" Peeta yelled. "I am a knight of the realm! I have not seen my mother in years! And she has every right to do whatever she wants!"

"You admit to not caring!"

"Not _caring_?" Peeta was aghast. "I love the people, and they love me! Have you not heard the tales of my exploits? How I have rushed to the villages and saved the people? From far and wide, land to land, village to village, they sing praises of my valiant sword and my even handsomer self! What does it matter that my mother acts this way? In the songs, they sing of my golden-"

"You will shut your mouth," Soft Voice snapped.

"How could you?" Peeta howled. "How could you insult me so? I am trying to tell you about how pretty I am-"

"Walk over to your friends and place the nooses over their necks," Soft Voice said in a bored tone.

"What?" Peeta exclaimed. "Betray Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid and Billy Willy Nill Hilly? Never, you villains! I shall die instead!"

"Very well. But I was about to tell you that if you put the nooses around their necks without having to untie your hands, perhaps I would consider letting you go."

Peeta eye's brightened. "Really?"

Soft Voice looked as though she was trying to hide some sort of amused expression. "Really."

"Okay!" Peeta sang, jumping up and down with happy joy. "Did you hear that?" he sang to his companions. "We're freeeeeeeeee!"

"We're not free yet," Billy's voice was raspy, and there was a scowl on his face. "Uh, Peeta, is dancing around really necessary-"

"Yay!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid's face brightened up. "Oh, I can finally smell some of the silk cloths in my rooms again!"

"Peeta," Billy said, his voice patient. "Peeta, stop twirling around in circles-"

"Ow!" Peeta suddenly howled as he fell and began to roll around on the wooden platform in obvious pain. "Ow, ow, owwie! Mom! Mommy! Help me! Please, someone, help me!"

"Get up," Soft Voice rolled her eyes.

"I can't!" Peeta sniffed. "I can't! My leg is broken! I have twisted it from my dance of joy!"

"Get up!" Soft Voice screamed. "Now! Or I'll kill your little companions!"

"I am not little!" Billy roared, a look of pure outrage on his face.

"And neither am I!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid puffed up his chest in pride.

"Get up!" Soft Voice shouted once more.

"I'm trying!" There were tears streaming down Peeta's face now as he jerked his upper body around the wood. "I'm-"

There was a thud as he fell off the platform, followed by a subsequent sob. And finally, silence.

"I think he fainted," one of the gathered bandits finally called out. "Does this mean we have to fix him up?"

"Is his leg really broken?" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid shot Billy a worried look.

"I think we should both shut up if we want to live," Billy whispered back.

"Right!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid gave an enthusiastic nod of his head. "Okay! I shall do that!"

"_Quiet_," Billy hissed.

"See what you've done now, Liv?" Darius gestured his head, and there was something like amused affection in his tone.

"Shut up, Dar," she snapped at him. "Go check to see if that Peeta girl really broke her leg."

Darius was smirking openly now. "He's a young man, not a girl. I do believe you have your genders confused, my dear."

"I'm not your 'dear'," Lavinia crossed her arms. "Now hurry up and go-"

"Oh, really?" he arched his eyebrows. "Because that's not what you said last week when we were at the inn-"

She rolled her eyes. "Why do you have to make that sound so much dirtier than it really was? All we did was-"

"Drink some soup and talk about our deepest, darkest secrets?" Darius finished for her. "Yeah, I know. You want me to go check on the Peeta boy? Girl? Boy-girl? Thing? Whatever you want to call-"

She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Thanks."

His eyes twinkled. "For you? Anything."

"Stop being cheesy, unless you want me to beat your face in."

"I think I'd like that," Darius grinned.

Lavinia leaned back against a tree trunk. "Whatever."

"Actually," he said slowly, as though he were thinking this all over, "it'd be pretty hot. I could go around saying, 'Hey, everyone, look here, my girl punched me so that she could mark me as hers and only hers. This means that you can't touch me-"

"Go _away_, Dar. Thank you."

/ / /

The only sounds that could be heard were novices running here and there, Annie weaving, Maysilee tapping her parchment, and Johanna twiddling her thumbs.

"We have a problem," Maysilee said suddenly, breaking the quiet.

"What is it?" Johanna asked.

"Five of our novices are missing," Maysilee frowned.

"I suppose you're going to tell us why they're missing?" Johanna leaned back in her squishy chair. "Don't tell me they've decided that being a nun is so unfashionable now that they've seen Finnick in all his knightly-"

"They're good girls," Maysilee interrupted. "I personally sent them to go out and collect the supplies from the forest, and they come back every time. You think to tell me that my judgement is unwise, is that it? Well, let me tell you something, Jo. I am quite sound of mind, thank you very much. I'll also have you know that-"

"Not at all," Johanna shook her head, not wanting to hear any self-therapy sessions. Her life was hard enough as it was.

Annie looked up from the tapestry that she was busy weaving. (Well, she'd _said _that she was weaving. But to Johanna, it really looked like the lady was perfecting her stabbing exercises with a needle.) "They have been taken."

Johanna blinked. "What?"

Maysilee let out a sigh. "I fear that to be so. Now, I hate to say this, but it means that we must collaborate with Haymitch-"

"What the fuck?" Johanna screamed. "That bitch steals my liquor!"

"Control your temper while there are novices around, would you, Jo?" Maysilee rolled her eyes. "We're trying to at least _pretend_ to be a respectable-"

Johanna wasn't listening, and she stood up, her chair scraping loudly as she did so. "I'll just go kill whatever it is with my axe."

Annie had a sad smile on her face. "Ah, but how do you know what it is? There are many things that steal innocent novices, and not all of them are creatures of the forest."

"The forest is dark and impenetrable-"

"You forget that the forest is dark." Annie said softly. "It is dark and laced with many dangers, Johanna. It swallows up the innocent and those who are incapable of protecting themselves. And need I remind you that not everyone knows how to defend themselves like you do, Jo?"

That was true, Johanna supposed. Still, she wasn't going to just _sit _here. "I'm going to go out and find that thing. And you know what I'm going to do afterward? I'm going to come back with those five little brats of yours, Maysilee. So be grateful and stop looking at me like I've grown an extra head."

Maysilee let out a snort. "It wouldn't be the first time I've seen someone grow an extra head."

Johanna rolled her eyes and made her way to the door. "Bye. Have fun with your stabbing practice, Annie."

"Don't get killed!" Maysilee called as Johanna swung the door open.

"What do you think I am, a little five-year-old? I won't, obviously."

"Bye," Annie laughed as the door creaked shut behind their friend. She turned to Maysilee then, and her expression was solemn. "Perhaps we should retreat into the caves."

"No," Maysilee shook her head. "Not yet. Things are not that dire yet, my dear."

"But they will be." Annie sighed as she went back to killing her tapestry. "Soon," she said as shreds of the fabric fell to the floor in pieces, like little chunks of flesh here and there. "Sooner than we would like, I fear."

/ / /

_It must have been hours. It must have been days. Maybe even years. All that Finnick knew was that they had made their way onto the roof. An empty roof, actually. Finnick had known that there was something strange about the invaders not stationed around. It had been at the cost of the people fighting to their left and right, but that had ceased to matter hours ago. It had become a struggle to get to the top, and soon enough, the swift arc of his blade had become monotonous. Oh, he had been just as quick and nimble as he had been before - of that, Finnick had no doubt. But it was the other things, like the fact that- _

_"Water," Annie shook her head as ran back to him. "They've soaked the beacons with water. Unless you know magic, I really don't-" _

_"Shit," Finnick rubbed a weary hand over his face. "And we don't have any fire, do we? Even if we did, it wouldn't be enough to-" _

_The door to the roof opened, and this time they could hear foreign shouts. Annie simply rose her eyebrows and shot Finnick a look. _

_"Someone's coming," he mouthed at her. _

_"No shit," she snorted. Annie yanked his hand rather roughly, and then she began to drag him toward one of the more obscure corners of the roof. "There's no exit or hideaway up here that you know of?" she asked. _

_He shook his head. "Do you know any?" _

_Finnick didn't like the look that was spreading across her face. Was that a _smirk_? Oh, dear gods. "Get up onto the wall," she hissed at him. _

_He frowned at her. "What?" _

_"Do it," she hissed as the shouts became louder. "_Now_." _

_Finnick crossed his arms. "No. Only if you do it first-" _

_Annie let out an exasperated breath. "Do you really have to be so immature? Especially _now_?" _

_He gave her a smug grin. "You know, I'm beginning to think-" _

_Her hand grasped in his, so sudden that he didn't realize it until he realized how warm and strangely callused it was. Most of the women that he knew had soft hands and softer smiles (with the exception of the outlaws he sometimes caroused with, of course) - especially the highborn ones. But Annie was different in that aspect, just like she was different in so many other ways. And Finnick had to admit that he liked it, despite the fact that he'd just introduced himself to her an evening ago. _

_They had stepped up without him realizing it, and Finnick saw that he stood up on the wall, the blocks of stone beneath his feet. There were little pebbles that were flying off the wall and heading down to the water below. "Don't yell," Annie said. "And jump on three." _

_The shouts behind them were louder now, becoming more clear and alarmingly close. _

_"One..." _

_An excited cry erupted from behind. "Do you see them? I think I saw them! Get over here!" _

_Annie let out an annoyed huff. "Oh, screw it. Three!" _

_Finnick was pretty sure that she pushed him off, something that he would repeatedly tell her later. Not that Annie would admit it, of course. Not until a long while afterward. _

/ / /

"Do you sing?" Finnick asked as he leaned back against a tree trunk.

Katniss shrugged. "I used to."

She could hear the smile in his voice. "I guessed as much."

"Then why did you ask?"

"Is it bad to make conversation?" Finnick laughed.

"I thought you were supposed to be a master at seduction," Katniss rose her eyebrows. "Don't tell me you really don't have anything more interesting to say to me?"

He smirked. "Katniss, if I wanted to seduce you, you'd already be hopelessly in love with me. It so happens that I-"

"I brought some squirrels back," Gale walked into the clearing, a grim expression on his face. "What else do we have for dinner?"

"Some of the food that Maysilee gave us," Katniss rummaged through the sack. "Let's see... turnips, radishes, apples-"

Finnick gave a wave of his hand. "In case you thought she was being generous, she wasn't. Maysilee just likes to shove the food she hates onto passing travelers. Mind you, most of the food is rotten, so I wouldn't eat it if I were you. And given the fact that we left after the night she got into a fight with Haymitch, I'd say that she was feeling especially enthusiastic."

Katniss held up an apple and inspected it carefully. "It does like kind of rotten... all those brown parts..."

Gale made a face, "I think there's a worm coming out of one end."

Katniss sighed as she got up. "I guess we'll have to use it as some sort of bait to lure the animals out, then."

"What, the vegetarian ones?" Finnick let out a snort.

"Shut up," Gale snapped.

"See you," Katniss laughed as she walked away.

"Someone's feeling protective," Finnick sing-songed. "I wonder who? You get three guesses, Hawthrone. First clue: he's standing ten feet away from me. Second one: he-"

"You are such a bitch," Gale rolled his eyes. "Did you know that?"

"That's why you love me," Finnick winked.

"Think what you will." Gale sat down and let out a breath. "It's been a long day, hasn't it?"

Finnick shrugged. "It's mostly due to the fact that we haven't been talking at all," Finnick pointed out. "But I suppose complete silence is better than chatting away. We're safer one way and more likely to get caught the other."

"Every day we draw closer to court, the safer and more endangered Katniss will be," Gale raked a hand through his hair. "Contradictory, isn't it?"

"She can take care of herself," Finnick said. "You know she doesn't want any of us to do that for her."

Gale sighed. "Sometimes I don't think she even knows just how dangerous-"

"She knows," Finnick cut him off. "She just chooses to forget. It's easier that way, you know. Forgetting."

"And you're an expert on the subject?" Gale arched his eyebrows.

A lazy smirk spread across Finnick's face. "I'm an expert on almost everything, Hawthorne. Didn't you know?"

/ / /

_Finnick's yell was swallowed by the wind that was forcing itself into his mouth. Leave it to Annie to think that hauling them over the ledge was the only solution. (Okay, so it _had _been the only solution, other than stay behind and fight. But they were two against gods knew how many invaders, and Finnick wasn't quite ready to die just yet.) Still, she had lived near the shore all her life, so he supposed that there was nothing new in this to her. Rumors had it that there were dozens of extremely high cliffs all over the Cresta lands. Rumor also had it that several of the children - noble and common alike - enjoyed jumping off of the cliffs and into the sparkling waters below. For the exhilaration, it was said. _

_Finnick was sure that jumping off of a familiar cliff and landing in the ocean was a vastly different experience from jumping off of foreign castle walls and landing in much shallower depths that ran with much darker things. _

_It felt like he was being slapped by a dozen stone floors when they finally crashed into the water, and he realized that Annie was still holding his hand. "Fun?" she turned to him, a smile on her face even as they swam away from the castle. _

_He smiled at her. "Different." Then, "We have to get to the monastery as soon as possible." _

_She nodded. "Then we need to get inside the Starless Forest immediately." _

_He laughed. "It's right in front of us." _

_And it was. If they got out of the water, it would be right there. Surely the invaders had not been so foolish as to enter it, for if the tales were true, barely any made it out alive - for every one person who had survived the Starless Forest, there were two hundred and seven who had not. If you were not a member of the monastery, it was a measure of wit and charm and skill and sheer luck that got you out of the Starless Forest._

_"It's the only way." Annie let go of his hand as they dragged themselves onto the grass. "You alright?" she frowned. "Your armor isn't weighing you down too much, is it?" _

_Finnick let out a laugh. "Perhaps I should get rid of it. It'd be safer for us to travel without me having it anyway." _

_"Only if we happened to bump into any invaders," Annie's voice was soft. "Are you sure you want to go in, Finnick? You can travel a separate route if you'd like-" _

_He smiled at her. "What kind of knight would I be if I did not journey into the forest? Moreover, why would I abandon a high-born lady? That would go against the knightly principles, wouldn't it?" _

_She shook her head in exasperation. "Finnick." _

_"Besides," he went on, "those with good hearts need not fear, remember?" _

_Annie rolled her eyes. "Then I fear for you, Sir Odair." Her tone was mocking, but the smile on her face did not reach her eyes. _

/ / /

_Peeta was having another nice dream. In the dream, he was riding around on a unicorn and throwing out flower petals. His hair was being combed by a loaf of bread, and Katniss stood in the near distance. "My love!" he cried out. "Oh, my love!" _

_He had to compose another song for her! Oh, the endless ways that he could praise her beauty! Her eyes, her lips, her nose! Her fingers, her unseen toes, her unkempt clothing! Her scowl, her stance, her eyebrows! Everything about her was perfect, and it would always be that way for as long as he lived. _

_"Peeta," a voice from above said. "Peeta." _

_Something was shaking him, and he frowned. "Fluffy unicorn," he commanded, "I want you to go faster, please." _

_There was a laughing noise, and then a smelly man appeared by his side. "She shall be your doom, little Peeta." _

_"Ehck," Peeta wrinkled his nose. "You smell horrid!" _

_The man laughed and laughed, and then he was gone as quickly as he had come. In his place came rain, falling all around, and the sun was beginning to disappear. _

_"Peeta!" the voice called again. "Peeta!" _

_There was a sharp jab of pain to his right shoulder, and he let out a loud gasp-_

Peeta jolted awake to find several pairs of eyes on him. Wait, _what?_ Eyes? Oh, he must not let them know that he had seen them! He hastily forced his eyes shut once more, letting the voices soothe him over like a wave.

"You didn't have to punch him that hard, Liv," Gruff Voice laughed.

"I agree!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid shouted. "How could you treat my master this way? He is ill, I tell you! _Ill_!"

"He broke his leg while dancing to his own moronic little tune," Soft Voice snapped. "That does not constitute as 'ill' under my watch, boy."

"Do you enjoy insulting people?" Billy sounded amused. "Or is this your way of expressing yourself?"

Gruff Voice drew himself up. "You don't know the first thing about her," he snapped, and his voice was low and protective.

Peeta just couldn't take it anymore! Everyone was being so mean to each other! "Stop it!" he shrieked, his voice shrill.

When his eyes opened once more, he saw that everyone's attention was focused on him. Peeta gulped. "Awake for real now, girl?" Soft Voice smiled.

"Have I died?" he frowned.

Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid gave a vigorous shake of his head. "No! We have been spared! All due to your broken leg, sir!"

His frown deepened. This didn't make any sense at _all_. "_What_?"

"We help those who break their legs," Soft Voice announced breezily, as though it was the most normal occurrence in the world.

Peeta studied her for a long moment. "Is that how you met these people, Soft Voice? By breaking your leg?"

She laughed. "My name is Lavinia, girl. _Lavinia_. And no, it's not how I met them. But it _is _how the leader before me had his life saved, and by an outlaw, nonetheless."

Peeta shot her a suspicious look. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Lavinia shrugged. "You broke your leg."

"_That's _the reason why?" Peeta rose his eyebrows.

Lavinia could have told him that she'd realized what a sad and innocent little thing he was. She could have told him that he reminded her so much of herself when she was younger, and that it hurt to see that. She could have told him that she'd wanted to punish him as a way to punish herself for how she used to be. She could have told him that it was foolish to be lost in such hopes and dreams and green pastures, for all of that was gone sooner or later. She could have told him dozen upon dozens of different things, but she didn't, because they would all mean the same thing, and he would just be confused and frowning after it was over.

But Peeta was waiting, a patient look of bafflement on his face. She finally settled with, "I'm feeling generous today."

Peeta beamed. "Can I have a puppy?"

She frowned. "No."

"Please, Lavinia?" he pouted.

She shook her head. "You still appear to be kind of delusional, Peeta. Get some rest."

"I'll write you a song!" he cried out. "Here, let me compose one now!"

"Leave it alone," Billy said, his eyes widening for a slight second, as though he'd realized something.

"Ooh, I want to hear!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid sang happily.

She shot Darius a look, and saw that he was doing his best not to laugh. "That's really not necessary-"

Peeta burst into song, "_There once was a fair maiden, _

_her name was Lavinia. When all hope was forsaken,_

_she would appear, like a ball of sunshine! _

_Oh, if Katniss was not mine_

_how I would love this Lavinia! _

_One day, in the depths of the forest, I-_"

Peeta looked up, and saw that the spot Lavinia had occupied was gone. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "She's gone!"

"She doesn't enjoys songs," Gruff Voice stood up and made his way out, no doubt to go after her.

"Does that mean I don't get my puppy?" Peeta frowned.

"We no longer appear to be captives, so you should get some sleep," Billy said, his voice soft as he rose to his feet. "We all need it, but you especially."

He was right, Peeta supposed. "Okay. But only if I get a puppy, Billy. And it has to be from Lavinia."

"I'll get it for you!" Another Random Dumb Blonde Kid beamed happily.

The room went dark. "Did you turn out the candle, Billy?" Peeta frowned.

"Get some sleep," his friend said.

And so they all did.

/ / /


End file.
